


Different Perspectives

by arc852, HiddenDreamer67



Series: Perspective Series [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), The Borrowers - All Media Types
Genre: Borrowers - Freeform, G/T, GT, Giant/Tiny, Human, Humans, M/M, Multi, Other, TINY - Freeform, borrower, borrower!roman, borrower!virgil, human!logan, human!patton, tinies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-05-13 04:18:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 63,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14741852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arc852/pseuds/arc852, https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenDreamer67/pseuds/HiddenDreamer67
Summary: When a borrower!Roman gets stuck with a human!Logan, it's clear from their different perspectives that they both still have a lot to learn. Also later on featuring a borrower!Virgil and human!Patton, who have their own perspectives to bring to the table.





	1. Glue traps s(t)uck

Roman struggled against the sticky tape, trying to get out of his shoes in order to jump back to safety. Unfortunately, he ended up tripping and fell forward on the sticky tape with no way to stop it. He just barely managed to keep his face from sticking to the floor. He tried moving his arms up, but they wouldn’t budge. He was stuck.

Panic blossomed in Roman and he felt his breath get quicker, more erratic. He was stuck, this was it. Virgil was in a room way across the complex, so getting him to help was out. He was going to die here. If not by lack of food and water then by-

The floor rumbled beneath him and Roman’s breath hitched. The human was coming.

“Yes, I’m checking it now Patton.” Logan rolled his eyes. Logan had discovered much of his food had been going missing. When regular mouse traps failed him, Logan decided to put down glue traps to stop the rodent thief. However, his always empathetic friend Patton was worried about a mouse getting stuck in the trap for days, and insisted Logan go often to check if any creature was there and to let it be free.

Logan was fed up with these constant reminders to check the trap. If the other traps had failed, this one was likely to fail as well. He seemed to be dealing with no ordinary mouse. However, as he reached the kitchen and spotted the trap just behind the lower cupboards, he noticed a wriggling figure.

“...Oh.” Logan leaned closer and confirmed that this was indeed no ordinary mouse. In fact, if he wasn’t a man of science, Logan would dare to say it was a tiny man caught in his glue trap. But that had to be impossible!  
Impossible or not, there was indeed a little person staring fearfully up at him as it was stuck lying on its stomach in the glue.  
  


Roman’s struggles picked up once the human came into view. No, this couldn’t happen! He wasn’t going down without a fight.

But of course, none of his limbs budged. Roman’s worst fear was about to be realized. He was helpless and at the complete mercy of a human.

This wasn’t going to end well for him.

  
“I’ve got to go Patton.” Logan said, quickly hanging up the phone. This certainly changed things. He had expected a mouse, not a person. Well of course he expected a mouse because people aren’t supposed to be a few inches tall-

No, he couldn’t focus on that. What was important now was saving the poor trapped guy. Logan quickly googled “sticky rat trap” and after finding nothing useful, added “unstick the mouse” for good measure. He read through the wiki-how article once before getting up and gathering the necessary materials.

Logan put on gloves, as instructed. He bent down and looked at the tiny man again. Honestly, every time he looked down the situation seemed even more baffling. “Sorry about this.” Logan gave as a warning, before picking up the trap.

Roman didn’t, couldn’t, speak as he felt the surface he was on being lifted. It filled his stomach with butterflies and nauseous. Though the nausea was more from thinking about the situation he was in then the actual movement.

Not having any other option, Roman stayed still and hoped that despite what happened, it would at least be quick.

Logan set the glue trap with the person into a tupperware container four inches deep. Just as the Wiki-how said, Logan covered the man with a towel and ever so gently placed his gloved hand on his back to keep him still while he worked.

“It’s alright, don’t panic.” Logan instructed in what he hoped was a calming voice. The instructions didn’t say talking to the ‘mouse’ would help it stay less stressed, but Logan figured with this scenario it was only polite.

Logan glanced back at his phone for more instructions, pulling the vegetable oil out of a top cupboard. He carefully began to pour some into the container, rubbing it in with the cloth where the creature was attached to the glue.

Roman stiffened as he felt a weight drop onto his back, in the back of his mind registered that it was gentle, but he was not focused on that right now. He was more focused on the fact that there was a human touching him.

What was even happening? What was the human up to? Roman found it hard to listen to the human’s words when taking in his current situation.

Logan continued the process for a few minutes, feeling incredibly odd about the whole thing. This was certainly not how he expected to spend his evening. But, as the five minutes came to a close, he could feel the glue releasing its strong grip on the little guy. Logan let out a sigh of relief. He would have felt awful if the tiny strange creature thing had died due to his trap.

...Especially before he could learn all about said creature.

Logan carefully tugged on the small body, attempting to pry it up and out of the glue.

Roman suddenly felt the weight that had been on top of him shift after several long minutes. They curled around the rest of his body and Roman shivered. It felt weird, even if the human’s hand was covered by a glove. And then, the grip around him tightened and pulled up.

Whatever the human had done to the trap might have helped a little, Roman doesn’t truly know, but all he does know is that it didn’t help enough because he was currently feeling so much pain. The sticky glue pulled at his skin, but worse of all was his hair. A few strands had gotten stuck along with the rest of him and it being pulled was torture to the borrower.

“Ahh! Stop!”

Logan paused at the sound of the tiny’s voice. The fact that it could speak- and conveniently english, at that- was almost more improbable than the little guy’s very existence.

He waited a few moments. “Sorry, it’s best to just get it over with.” Logan explained, before going at it again and separating the person from the glue as carefully as his comparatively large hands would allow.

Having no chance at fighting against the human’s choice, Roman braced himself as he was pulled up again. It hurt like hell, but he left the glue with all his hair and skin attached.

Now all he had to worry about was what the human would do with him now that he was free.

Logan lifted up the creature, giving it a quick look-over for injuries before setting it on the counter. “Alright.” Logan gave a satisfied nod, pleased the procedure had gone well. He disposed of the trap and excess oil in the trash, setting his gloves inside one of the cabinets.

He folded his arms on the edge of the counter, leaning closer to examine the man.

Roman backed away a few steps as the human’s face came closer. He gulped nervously and subtly looked around for any chances of escape. Unfortunately, his entrance into the wall was quite a bit away and if he were to make a run for it, it would be child’s play for the human to stop him.

Roman might have been free of the glue, but he was still trapped.


	2. What are you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suprisingly, words do not make it any easier for Logan and Roman to understand each other.

Roman glanced back at the human, not able to read the expression on his face. He thought about staying silent, but because of his previous outburst the human already knew he could talk, so there really was no point. Deciding on what to do, Roman stood up straight, trying to put on an air of confidence.

 

“Thank you.” He said simply. Even if the trap _had_ been the human’s fault, but Roman thought it best not to say that outloud.

 

“Of course.” Logan waved off the thanks, now focused solely on the anomaly in front of him. He squinted. “What _are_ you?”

 

“What? No, how are you? Are you okay? What’s your name? Just gonna jump straight to that huh? Figures.” Roman rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. On the outside he was collected, on the inside? He was pretty sure his heart was about to explode. Virgil always did say he had too big a mouth.

 

Logan leaned back slightly, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t think pleasantries were really relevant here.” He paused. Patton always did say he had a tendency to ignore other’s feelings. “How do you feel, then?”

 

“Great.” Roman said sarcastically. “So nice to see that you care. Not like I almost died or anything.” Roman backed away a few more steps. The human might have leaned away, but he wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.

 

Logan rolled his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic, you weren’t in immediate danger. You were just stuck for at most a few hours before I came and found you and set you loose.”

 

 

“Yes, a few hours where I thought _I_ _was going to die_.” Roman huffed and turned his back towards the human. He hated not being able to see the human’s movements, but it was imperative to his plan that he had thought up just now.

 

His way to freedom was in sight, and though it may be quite the run for him, if he distracted the human enough by talking he might just make it. At the very least, it couldn’t hurt to try.

 

Logan huffed in annoyance. What had Logan _just said_ about being dramatic? Then again, Logan had to remember what Patton had taught him and try to see things from this tiny person’s point of view. The results were… troubling.

 

“I apologize for those few hours.” Logan yielded. “But, you have to look at the results. You did not, in fact, _die_ and instead are perfectly fine as far as I can tell.”

 

 

“It is the principle of the thing, Specs.” Roman said turning back towards the human, the nickname slipping out without him really meaning for it to. But, it wasn’t like he knew the human’s actual name after all.

 

Feeling just a tad dangerous, Roman took several more steps away from the human and toward his exit. Hoping he was still distracted enough to notice.

 

Logan was watching the miniature person’s movements carefully. “Specs?” He was thrown for a moment by the nickname, adjusting his glasses subconsciously. “How incredibly creative of you.”

 

“You have to admit, it’s at least better than something like four-eyes.” Roman took a few more steps back. He was _so_ close. “And thank you, I pride myself on my creativity.” He said with a smug grin, knowing what the human had said was meant as sarcasm, but taking the compliment anyway.

 

Logan frowned. “Where are you going?”

 

Roman’s body tensed.

 

“I-I have no idea what you are talking about. I haven’t moved.” Crap, if he had any chance to escape he had to do it soon.

 

 

“No, you were right here.” Logan pointed to the puddle of excess oil that had dripped off the little person, as well as the slight trail leading to where he now stood.

 

 

Roman gulped. “Well, you see, the thing about that is-” Roman cut himself off, turning around and sprinting towards the hidden door behind the toaster.

 

 

Logan quickly reached out his arms in front of the tiny being, expecting some such reaction. The sudden movement jammed his stomach into the counter, and he let out an irritated huff in response to the whole unnecessary situation. It was clear the creature possessed _some_ form of intelligence, given it could speak. Why then would it try to escape if Logan was so clearly superior to it?

 

Roman yelped as a giant arm suddenly filled his vision and he slammed into it. He stumbled back, but managed to keep himself from falling over. As soon as he gained his balance, he grit his teeth and ran at the arm again. This time jumping and trying to climb over it. Keyword _trying_.

 

“Oh please.” Logan grabbed the being with his other hand as it attempted to climb over his arm. He turned his hand and lifted it up so that the little man was being held face-to-face, more or less.

 

“H-Hey!” Roman shivered at the feeling of giant fingers holding him. He ignored Logan’s words, struggling in the grip. “Let me go you towering turd!”

 

“Well now not only are you acting like a child, you sound like one too.” Logan retorted, unfazed by the insult.

 

“Unhand me at once!” Roman said, still ignoring the human’s words. But being compared to a child did not leave a good feeling in Roman.

 

 

Logan ignored the tiny person’s request, instead just now realizing the opportunity he had been presented. He brought it closer to his face, scrutinizing the tiny details from the doll outfit clothing to the tiny strands of hair. Logan ran his fingers along its head, finding the hairs surprisingly soft.

 

Roman froze when he felt the human ruffle his hair, the sensation sending shivers down his whole body.

 

Logan moved on to the arms, lifting one and gently fiddling with it. He could feel the miniscule bones beneath his fingertips. “Extraordinary.”

 

Roman didn’t dare move his arm, it would be _so_ easy for the human to snap his arm in half. The very thought made Roman’s heart skip a beat.

 

“G-Glad you think so, now...now may I please have my arm back?” Roman asked, stuttering and failing to keep up with his collected appearance.

 

 

Logan let go of its arm, sensing he had made the little guy uneasy, but continued to examine the person further by using his fingers to rotate the creature in his grip.

 

“How on Earth are you real?” Logan muttered to himself.

 

 

Roman yelped as he was moved within the grip. Oh, he did not like that feeling one bit. He turned his head in order to actually see the human.

 

“I don’t know! How are _you_ real?!” Roman was suddenly reminded of several existential conversations he had had with Virgil.

 

Logan turned the mini being around so they were once again facing each other. “Well it’s basic science. According to the square cube law, a creature of your size and shape should not be able to survive in this world. Proportionately, your body cannot produce enough body heat and you should have freezed to death ages ago. Yet the evidence in front of me is contradictory.” He pressed his fingers further into the little creature. “You’re clearly warm to the touch.”

 

Roman...did not like all this talk about science. Science was bad for borrowers like him. It meant a number of bad things; things Roman hoped the human would not do to him.

 

“I mean, I do get cold easily, but I am very clearly not impossible. Sounds like whoever came up with the square cube law had never met a borrower.” It took exactly two seconds for Roman to realize what he had just said.

 

“Uh, I mean-! A small person like me-I mean! I’m the only one!” Roman shouted, though he knew it was too late.

 

Logan was quickly filing all this new information back in his head for later. The possibility of an entire race of these… _borrowers_ brought even more questions, especially considering Logan had never heard of anything closely resembling such a creature.

 

“No, I don’t suppose the square cube law creator ever met a… borrower.” Logan tried out the term for himself. “That’s what you call yourself, I suppose?”

 

Roman sighed. “Yes.” He paused for a moment. “But most people call _me_ Roman.”

 

“Logan.” Logan responded, gesturing to himself briefly. “And by most people, I’m guessing that’s referring to other borrowers? Given your response it doesn’t seem you spend a lot of time in the company of humans. Or perhaps it’s just me and I should be taking personal offense.” Logan gave a slight smirk to show that this was his attempt at humor.

 

 

A small smirk appeared on Roman’s own face, but it fell just as quickly as it had come. Just because he now knew the human’s-Logan’s name, didn’t mean things were suddenly fine. Logan could still do anything he pleased to Roman.

 

“Yeah, no. Borrowers aren’t actually supposed to be seen, to protect us and prevent _these_ things from happening.” He explained, gesturing to both of them and the situation they were currently in.

 

“So, maybe, you could just put me down and let me leave. We both pretend this never happened and everything goes back to normal. Humans and borrowers can remain seperate, which is just for the better. What do you say?” Roman asked, putting on a smile and silently praying Logan would take him up on it. Though, the sinking feeling in his gut told him otherwise.

 

“But I still have so many questions.” Logan responded. “Why is it so important for borrowers to stay unseen by humans?”

 

“Really?” Roman deadpanned, eyebrow raised. “I don’t know Logan, why would borrowers, beings who are only a few inches tall, want to stay away from literal giants? It couldn’t be because humans would take advantage of us, or treat us as less than. That would be much too obvious.” Well, that question had triggered Roman a little more than he thought.

 

“Well, putting it that way sounds as if borrowers are merely trying to hide from the truth of this world.” Logan shrugged. “It’s clear that your kind is inferior to mine in physical stature and strength. And on this planet it has been proven time and time again that humans are the dominant race due to their superior intellect.”

 

 

“ _What_ !?” A series of noises escaped from Roman. Something Virgil called ‘offended Princey noises’ several times in the past. But Roman was a little more than simply _offended_. He tried to stop the fear he felt from completely consuming him at Logan’s statement.

 

“I am not- _we_ are not-” Roman let out a frustrated growl, not knowing how to even respond to something like _that_ . “Just because we are smaller, _doesn’t_ mean we have any less of a right to be treated equally. But _stupid_ humans like you are why we have to stay hidden!”

 

 

“Excuse me?” Logan raised an eyebrow, bringing Roman closer.

 

“You heard me.” Roman simply said, ignoring how close he was to the human’s mouth. Despite everything, he was fairly sure Logan wasn’t about to eat him.

 

“The very inclination that humans are the reason you live a life of hiding is preposterous.” Logan lectured. “It seems that you borrowers have based your existence off of the fear of possibilities. You hide away because of what _might_ happen with a human. Not to mention, if you truly wish to coexist in this world as equals you would have to _behave_ as an equal rather than cowering or running away as you have been exhibiting.”

 

“You say that, but _you_ just proved that these ‘possibilities’ are very real. And why we can’t even _try_ to coexist, because there will _always_ be humans like you that think we don’t deserve it.” Roman took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart.

 

 

“I never said you don’t deserve it.” Logan held Roman a little further away from himself. “I was just making observations based on how life as we know it currently stands.”

 

“Just because you didn’t outright say it doesn't mean it wasn’t _heavily_ implied.” Roman mumbled, but it was still loud enough for Logan to hear. “Alright, then tell me. What are you planning on doing to me?”

 


	3. The questioning begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan questions Roman further and learns more about borrowers.

Logan blinked, for once unsure. “Well, to be honest, I’m only just now fully processing the fact I came home to find a tiny man stuck in the glue trap. I didn’t exactly plan for this situation.”

 “Yeah, well, I didn’t plan on being caught, so I guess we’re both kind of thrown for a loop here.” Roman paused. “You could still always let me go. That’s still on the table you know.”

 “Well if I let you go you’ll never come back.” Logan pointed out.

Roman thought about lying, but knew Logan would just see right through him. “Would you?”

 “You mean if I was a borrower?” Logan was surprised by this question. He thought about it for a moment. “It’s a hard decision to make because I lack the knowledge of your upbringing and borrower culture in general to know how those factors would affect my choice to leave. But if I were simply treating the situation as if I were merely a shrunken version of myself, I suppose it would depend on the overall effect I got from the human during the encounter. Shall we assume that the human I encounter is the real me, or a human version of yourself?”

 Roman blinked, thrown back by Logan’s answer, since the question had really been meant as rhetorical. “Um…” In all honesty, Roman was having a bit of trouble even following along to what Logan was saying. “The…real you?” He figured as close to Roman’s current situation he could get the human the better. And Roman really has  _no_  idea how  _he_  would react as a  _human_.

 “Hmm.” Logan put his free hand thoughtfully on his chin. His eyes became unfocused for a few moments as he truly pondered the hypothetical situation. “Well if it was myself I think our motives would be very much aligned. The borrower me would be so curious to learn more that I might not have even left the human’s side in the first place. So yes, if I were a borrower who was let go I would most certainly come back.”

 Logan paused, looking down at Roman once more. “However, you’re not me, of course.”

 “Yeah…I’m not. And I can tell you right now, no borrower would answer yes to that question. Including myself.” It just went to show how little Logan really understood.

 “Well as I stated, I’m not a borrower and lack the background knowledge to behave like one.” Logan shrugged. He pushed off the counter with his free hand, backing up a few steps before heading towards his bedroom.

 “Whoa!” The sudden movement surprised Roman, and jerked him a bit. He turned back, watching as the kitchen and his way back into the walls faded from sight. Roman gulped. Things were finally happening and Roman had no idea what to expect.

 “Where…Where are we going?”

 “Here.” Logan gestured to his room as he entered. It was kept fairly neat, with the bed centered in the middle of the room. A desk was pushed to the left side of the room, above which hung some Sherlock posters. This was his target as Logan made his way over to the desk, sitting down at the chair.

 Roman looked around the bedroom, it was weird seeing it from this angle. Having only really seen it from the vents. “Alright…And why are we in your room?” Roman looked around some more but didn’t necessarily see anything bad.

 Logan all but dumped Roman onto his desk, using his now free hands to dig around in one of the desk drawers. “I figured it’d be easier to continue the investigation here. And standing around in the kitchen wasn’t the most comfortable.”

 “I can tell you another thing that isn’t very comfortable.” Roman said, rubbing at his sides. Logan hadn’t held him  _too_  hard, but he hadn’t exactly been gentle either. Either way, Roman was glad to be free of the grip.

 “What do you mean by investigation?” Roman asked, fear once again filling him. Not that it had ever left, but you get the point.

 Logan pulled out a ruler and a notebook. “My investigation to learn more about you.” He held up the ruler vertically next to Roman. “Stand up straight.”

 Roman didn’t do anything for a moment, before sighing and doing as told. “You know I could simply tell you my own height.”

 Logan hadn’t considered that. “Well, how tall are you then?” He said, mentally recording the number on the ruler anyways. “Or rather, how tall do you think you are?”

 “I’m 4 ½ inches tall, thank you very much.” He knows it wasn’t a lot to a human, but to a borrower, that was pretty darn tall. He had half an inch on a good number of borrowers he had met, including Virgil.

 “Interesting.” Logan was surprised to find the numbers matched. “When did you take the time to measure yourself? And how? And do all borrowers use human measurements?”

 Roman shrugged, shuffling his foot along the wood of the desk. “Well, we’ve borrowed some rulers in the past and simply used that. As for the measurements thing, well, what other measurements would we use?”

 “You ‘borrowed’ rulers?” Logan asked, picking up on Roman’s strange wording.

 Roman sighed, yet another thing he let slip. But he supposed it didn’t matter anymore. “We’re called borrowers for a reason. We borrow things from humans that we need to survive. Food, water, bits of clothing. Things humans would never miss. It’s not like we have a borrower grocery store we can go to in order to get these things.”

 “I suppose.” Logan considered his point. “Although ‘borrowing’ would be the wrong term. Borrowing implies the item will be returned.”

 A light blush found its way on Roman’s cheeks. “W-Well…” Roman…really didn’t have a response to that.

 “It’s sort of too late to change our name.”

 Logan chuckled at that. “Fair enough.” He reached his hand across the desk over Roman to grab a pen from its holder before beginning to write in his notebook.

 Roman ducked when the shadow of Logan’s arm covered him, only standing up straight again when Logan returned his arm.

 “So…what-what now?” Roman asked, not able to help the stutter in his voice.

 Logan raised a finger as the universal sign for ‘just a moment’, scribbling down his last thoughts. Satisfied with his work, Logan looked intensely at Roman. He tapped his pen against his chin, trying to decide where to start.

 “You said ‘we’ borrow things. Are you referring to borrowers as a species, or do you live with others?”

 Roman sighed. At least with this question he could tell the truth and not put others at risk. “As a species. I actually live alone.” He made no move to mention the others he knew about in the complex.

 “Do most borrowers live alone?” Logan questioned.

 “Well…” Roman thought for a minute. “Yes and no. It really depends. I  _do_  know a lot of borrowers who live on their own, but a good number also stay in small groups, either with friends or families. But, it is safer to be by ourselves. Less people to worry about and borrow for.” Roman shrugged, but deep down he didn’t feel comfortable just blatantly talking about borrowers with a  _human_. This was all so wrong, but Roman was scared of what Logan would do if he refused to answer.

 “So how do you find others of your kind?” Logan said. “And do you keep in touch with other borrowers?” Logan was not surprised to hear many borrowers stayed in groups, as it would provide a social support network necessary to such a secluded group. Then again, perhaps borrowers social habits differed from humans in such a way that isolation did not damage their psyche.

 Crap, they were getting very close to having Roman reveal the other borrowers in the complex and he couldn’t do that. Especially not to Virgil. “Well, it’s sort of a hit and miss. There aren’t a ton of us. Usually it’s more of a surprise when going into a new building. As for keeping in touch? Not really, we don’t really have ways of keeping tabs on one another. The only exception is with family, and that only really happens once a year. At least, for myself and my family anyway.” Roman answered, glad he managed to answer the question without revealing Virgil.

 “Is it common then for borrowers to switch buildings?” Logan took note of the phrase ‘new building’. “It would seem less than ideal for someone of your stature to be on the move frequently. Or are you actually more of a nomadic species and traveling is indeed how you keep so secretive?”

 “I mean, I’m sure some borrowers travel around, but usually when we’re old enough we move away from home. And yeah, it’s dangerous to do so, but we can handle it. We aren’t  _completely_ helpless you know.” Roman said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t humans basically do the same thing? Move when they get old enough?”

 “Well yes, that’s the goal anyway.” Logan nodded. “But it seems like a human would have a lot farther they could go, whereas a borrower would be much more limited distance-wise. It would be impractical for you to go very far, especially if you did intend on ever visiting your family again. How far from home did you go, exactly?”

 “Well, not  _everyone_  ever intends to see their family again. I’ve met borrowers from different countries before, so you would be surprised. I, however, didn’t travel too far. My parents actually live in-” Roman’s eyes widened and he cut himself off, slamming his hand over his mouth. He can’t believe he almost revealed where his parents were. Who knows what Logan would do with that information.

 “I mean…they don’t live too far, but farther than you might think.” Roman continued, being vague.

 Logan understood why Roman hadn’t said where his parents lived; it was common for all living beings to be territorial. That didn’t mean he had to like it, though.

 “Then is this apartment building the only building you’ve lived in other than your childhood home?” Logan asked, trying to connect the dots to the possibility of other borrowers within the building.

 “Well, yes. I’ve been here for a few years now.” Roman answered.

 “So do you keep in touch with the other borrowers in the building, then?” Logan questioned. “After all, you stated that it’s a surprise to find other borrowers in a new building, and if this is the only ‘new building’ you’ve ever been to I have to assume you’ve met some small companions within these walls.”

 Roman’s breath hitched. He, of course, expected this question at some point, because of course Logan would want to know if there were any more borrowers in the building. He’d have more subjects to study.

 Roman couldn’t answer this question.

 Even if it meant putting his own safety on the line.


	4. Let's go for a ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman wants to go home. Logan wants to go to the lab. Guess who wins?

“Look.” Roman started. “Playing twenty questions with you has been  _ great _ so far. Really fun. But I’m just gonna cut to the chase.” Roman took in a deep breath. Heart pounding violently against his chest.

 

“Are you going to let me go?”

 

“No.” Logan shook his head. “Why do you keep asking me that? You’re not in any danger, and logically it makes no sense for me to let you go since I still have questions which I may never get the chance to ask again.” Logan supposed he could go looking for other borrowers, but given he had yet to discover how borrowers operated day-to-day it was much more beneficial to keep a hold on the borrower he had.

 

“Why do I keep-? You are holding me here against my will! I don’t want to be here! I don’t want to answer your stupid questions or be studied. I want to go home, I want to live my life!” Roman shouted, shoulders bunched up as he kept tears from falling. Roman  _ couldn’t _ understand why Logan-or any humans for that matter-thought his kind deserved to be treated this way. 

 

 

Logan blinked, suddenly feeling guilty. He didn’t want to be inhumane about this and make Roman miserable, keeping him captive. Of course, Roman was being a bit dramatic- it had only been an hour.

 

“I… apologize for making you feel so worried.” Logan rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He didn’t want Roman to feel trapped. Of course, he was trapped, but Logan didn’t want Roman to  _ feel  _ trapped. Patton would be so disappointed in his people skills yet again.

 

He looked down at tiny Roman, studying him curiously. It was strange just how _human_ he looked, if not a bit paler. Possibly due to a large vitamin D deficiency, which would make sense if Roman lived in the walls and rarely went outside. (Although the amount of stress Roman was clearly experiencing could also be lending itself to his pale state.)

 

Looking closer, Logan noticed other worrying details about Roman. He seemed unnaturally thin, making Logan wonder if borrowers were known for being thin or Roman was just malnourished. 

 

“I don’t intend on keeping you from living your life.” Logan used what he hoped was a reassuring tone. 

 

Roman’s eyes widened slightly, not expecting Logan to actually apologize. And that last line, it gave Roman an inkling of hope. Maybe he had actually gotten through to the human?

 

“So...you  _ are _ going to let me go?” Roman couldn’t help but let his hope shine through his tone. 

 

Logan internally winced, realizing that his words were misinterpreted. “Well, no. I was more so trying to explain that I didn’t want my curiosity to become overbearing on you.”

 

And just like that, all of Roman’s hope was crushed. Roman grit his teeth. It was getting increasingly more difficult for him not to cry.

 

“Well then, you can forget about me answering anymore questions.” Roman figured if he couldn’t get anywhere playing along with the human, then maybe he could get somewhere by being difficult. 

 

Even if it meant more hurt for him in the future.

 

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

 

Roman huffed and crossed his arms, turning his head away from Logan. He remained silent.

 

Logan paused for a few moments before he realized what Roman was doing. “Oh, you are serious.” He glanced at Roman appraisingly before closing his notebook. “I suppose that means we’re done for the day.”

 

Logan drummed his fingers on the desk, thinking. Usually he considered himself a very patient man, but right now his curiosity was eating away at him inside his brain. Then again, Logan had to be practical here. If Roman didn’t want to speak there was nothing Logan could do to make him. 

 

Logan was brought out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed in his back pocket. He pulled it out to see he had a text from Professor Jameson:

 

**_Logan, you left your lab manual and supplies in the chem lab again. please retrieve it and lock up for the night._ **

 

Logan texted back a quick text affirming he would do so. He looked back at Roman. He’d rather keep Roman here, but he wasn’t ready to let him out of Logan’s sight. Besides, with Roman not cooperating, perhaps it would be nice to take a quick trip back to the school.

 

“Very well then.” Logan nodded, reaching out a hand to grab Roman.

 

Roman turned his head at Logan’s words just in time to see the hand coming right for him. Roman yelped and prepared to run away from the hand, but of course the human was faster. It was no trouble at all for the hand to curl around his body, completely immobilizing him. Once again he found himself struggling in the grip of a human.

 

“Seriously, what is with you and grabbing me?!” 

 

“Well it is the quickest and most efficient way to transport you.” Logan stood up. “Even if you were willing to follow me, I doubt your strides would keep up with mine.”

 

 

Roman grumbled, but didn’t bother trying to argue with Logan. Seeing as how he was technically right on both counts. 

 

“Doesn't mean I like it…” He mumbled.

 

Logan picked up an empty computer bag he kept next to the door, carefully placing Roman at the bottom and zipping it up only halfway so the borrower would still be able to breathe.

 

“What-! Hey!” Roman yelled as he suddenly found himself in some sort of bag. He looked up through the open part of the bag, not really able to see anything.

 

“What’s the big idea?!” Logan hadn’t even  _ warned  _ him. 

 

“Well I need to go outside.” Logan answered, gently putting the strap of the bag over his shoulder in an attempt not to jostle it. “I figured that since you’re so adamant that humans aren’t supposed to see borrowers, it would be most beneficial if I didn’t walk around parading you in my palms.”

 

 

Well, at least Roman was safe from others knowing about him. At least...for the time being. Roman went ahead and pushed  _ those _ thoughts very far away.

 

“At least warn me next time.” Roman said, before realizing what he said. Oh gosh, he really was expecting to be trapped with Logan for a while. 

 

“Fair enough.” Logan replied, walking out of his apartment after locking the door. He tried to keep the bag from hitting his side, but it became a bit more difficult on the stairs. Logan lifted the bag to help hold it steady. 

 

Logan made it down to the parking lot and hopped into his car, setting the bag down on the passenger seat. Although looking at it for a moment Logan moved it to the floor, deciding the bag would be safer if it was laying on the ground. 

 

Satisfied, Logan started up the engine, only now conscious of how loud the motor could get.

 

Roman hated the feeling of being in the bag and winced when what he assumed was a car roar to life. It was a lot louder than what he heard from inside the building. Roman sighed and ran a hand down his face, honestly, how was he going to get out of this? Logan obviously wasn’t going to let him go, why would he? To him, Roman was nothing more than an interesting creature, one he intended to study and learn more about. Roman would be lucky if he was ever left alone again.

 

It would be a miracle if he ever saw Virgil again.

 

Or a nightmare.

 

Roman shook his head of those thoughts and looked up, finally realizing the position he was in. Logan had left the bag on its side and if Roman wasn’t mistaken, he was on the floor of the car, not on the seat.

 

This was Roman’s chance.

 

If he could hideaway in the car and keep himself from being noticed, he could get out once Logan opened the door. Of course, it would be quite the journey back to his home, but it would be much better than sticking with the human and finding out what was about to happen to him.

 

Roman crawled towards the zipper where it was open, hand lifting the top part up so he could slip through it. He went to stand was he was outside of the bag and quickly froze as he looked up at Logan. He couldn’t really see Logan’s face from where he was, but the human seemed much too focused on the road in front of him to notice his little escape attempt. Letting out a breath Roman looked around and started jogging down the middle of the two front seats.

 

Now in the back, he looked around for the best place to hide until the door was open. He settled for the corner of the the right back seat, hidden by a small beam that extended from within the actual seat. Now, he waited.

 

Logan turned the car off, parking in his spot at the University. It was only a few minute drive, as Logan didn’t live far off campus. He grabbed the bag slowly from its place on the ground, pleased to see that it hadn’t moved. However, he was less pleased to notice it was considerably lighter. 

 

Logan peeked in the bag, growing anxious as he didn’t spot the borrower. Had he escaped somewhere on the way to the car? No, Logan had definitely felt him in the bag the whole way to the vehicle. Roman must have just climbed out within the car, meaning he was still contained. Hopefully.

 

“Roman?” Logan called out, on the off chance that Roman would respond. Logan was less than optimistic.

 

 

Roman tensed as he heard Logan call his name. Crap, Logan much have checked the bag and seen that he wasn’t in there. That definitely put a dent in his plan, seeing as how he doubted Logan would open the door knowing he would try and escape.

 

But maybe he still had a chance if he remained hidden. The car was small, but so was he.

 

 

Logan sighed in annoyance. “Roman, I know you’re in here. It would be safest if you just came out. I don’t want to risk you getting injured simply because I didn’t know where you were located.”

 

 

Roman rolled his eyes, as if he would listen to Logan and actually come out. Logan may have been a nerd, but man he could be stupid.

 

Logan waited a few moments. “Fine, but just remember I am not the one liable here.” Logan reminded him, bending down to feel underneath the front seats. When he of course felt nothing, Logan groaned before laying across the seats and looking beneath them. When his eyes adjusted to the shadows underneath, he finally spotted Roman hiding in the very back right corner of the vehicle.

 

“I see you Roman.” Logan stated, looking straight at the borrower.

 

Roman felt shivers run down his back when Logan met his eyes. His tone edging on annoyance, which was not a good thing for Roman. But, Roman realized, he may have been spotted but they still had quite the distance between them. And Logan being the lumbering human that he was, would have a harder time maneuvering around the car. Whilst Roman would have no problem.

 

So Roman wasn’t about to give up so easily.

 

Seeing Roman was still being stoically stubborn, Logan grumbled to himself as he got up, crouching to not hit his head on the roof as he climbed over the seats to reach the backseat. 

 

Roman waited until Logan was bit farther back into the car, before taking off, running to and down the left side of the car. As far from Logan as he possibly could go and back towards the front, settling down underneath the gas pedal. 

 

 

“Roman!” Logan called out irritably as he saw the tiny dash back the way Logan had just came. Logan laid down on the floor in front of the backseat, reaching out his hand toward the gas pedal. Unfortunately, his fingers remained just out of reach.

 

Roman chuckled a bit, amused as he watched Logan trying to maneuver in the car’s small space. Roman sidestepped out from underneath the pedal, Logan’s fingers still not able to reach where he stood. He stuck his tongue out at the human, before running off again, once again heading towards the back of the car. He past by Logan’s feet and kept going until he was settled in the corner of the trunk.

 

Roman had to figure that sooner or later, Logan would simply give up.

 

“Roman, stop acting so childish.” Logan scolded, turning over so he could glare at Roman. He maneuvered around so his head was once again aligned with Roman, reaching out a hand to find he was several inches too short. Huffing, Logan began to squeeze himself under the backseat to get closer.

 

“You’re gonna have to try a little harder than  _ that _ to catch me.” Roman chuckled and walked around the hand and back down towards the front. But this time, he stayed a little closer to Logan, because he knew it would be a few moments before Logan could get out from underneath the seat. 

 

“Honestly, you might as well just give up.”

 

But Roman had gotten a little too cocky. Logan pulled himself out from under the seat and grabbed Roman before the borrower could get any farther. Logan brought him up to his face and frowned. 

 

Roman was not expecting to suddenly be surrounded by fingers and yanked into the air. He let out a girlish scream that he would deny later on and froze as he was brought face to face with the human. Roman’s whole body shook as he stared into Logan’s annoyed eyes. That was not a look he ever wanted directed at him, oh gosh he really messed up. Roman opened his mouth, but found himself too scared to form any words and promptly closed it again.

 

 

Logan grabbed his computer bag from the front seat, putting Roman back into it less gently than before. He zipped the bag up a little bit more too for good measure. Slinging the strap over his shoulder, he exited the car and walked at a brisk pace towards the chemistry building. Despite his annoyance, Logan did try to keep the bag steady as he went, for Roman’s sake.

 

 

Roman groaned as he was practically thrown back into the bag without so much as word from Logan. Which was somehow worse than anything Logan could have said. He also noticed that this ride around seemed a lot more bumpy than before. Further showing how annoyed Logan really was.

 

Roman felt a sharp pain in his gut at the thought of what was about to happen to him.


	5. A trip to the lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While at the science laboratory, we learn that humans are often synonymous with monsters.

Logan quickly made his way up to the chem lab, unlocking the door with his security pass. He sighed at the mess he had left on the lab table. Unfortunately this was a common occurrence as Logan often couldn’t be bothered to clean up and had to be reminded by his professors. 

 

Logan grabbed Roman out of the bag and set him down on one of the few bare surfaces, deciding it would be best to keep an eye on Roman himself rather than trusting him to stay in the bag.

 

Roman stumbled slightly as he was set down and looked around his new surroundings once he gained his balance. His heart stopped as he was met with all kinds of  _ science _ equipment. Roman couldn’t even name any of them, just knew that they were all tools that did things no borrower would ever want done to them.

 

He looked fearfully up at Logan, who currently seemed busy clearing off a desk. Roman could only assume he was making space for the experiments he would perform on Roman. After all, why else would Logan bring him here.

 

The borrower back up several steps, frantically looking around for a way out, but saw nothing. He was trapped on top of the desk and completely at the mercy of Logan and whatever he was about to do to him.

 

Roman let out an involuntary whimper and seeing no other option, he turned back towards Logan. “Look, I’m sorry okay! I’m really sorry, I’ll answer your questions I promise just please don’t do this, please!” Roman’s voice cracked and the tears he had been holding back for so long finally fell down his cheeks.

 

Logan looked over at Roman, shocked to see him in tears. It was as if he had been broken down, but Logan genuinely had no idea what could have caused such a reaction. He may have been annoyed by Roman, but Logan was careful not to do anything in anger that may traumatize the little borrower. What, then, had set Roman off?

 

“Roman, calm down.” Logan’s eyebrows furrowed with worry. He put his hands up to show he meant no harm. “What’s wrong? What happened? What did I do?”

 

 

Roman’s breathing was heavy and erratic, of which he knew was the beginning signs of a panic attack thanks to helping Virgil out of several. He wasn’t quite there yet though, and he couldn’t afford to go there. But was Logan really going to make him say it?

 

“Y-You, you brought me here to-to…” Roman took some steady breaths. “B-Because I stopped, stopped answering your questions, you’ve decided you find the answers yourself with-with your  _ science _ tools.” Roman said gesturing around the room and the various objects. 

 

“But, please! You don’t have to, I’ll-I’ll answer your questions just...just…” Roman closed his eyes, head down, voice nothing but a whisper. “Please. I-I don’t want to die.”

 

“Oh, Roman…” Logan looked around the room, only just realizing how intimidating his equipment would look if one was 4 inches tall. Of course, most of it was harmless (when used properly), but Roman had no way of knowing that. 

 

Logan slowly came closer to Roman, making sure to still keep a safe distance. He crouched down to be more at eye-level with him.

 

“Roman, I’m not going to hurt you.” Logan spoke softly. “I swear, I have no intention of ever doing you harm. If you don’t want to talk, I’m not going to force answers out of you. The only reason we’re here is because I left a mess when I was experimenting earlier and my professor asked me to come and clean up. I just brought you along to keep tabs on you.”

 

 

Roman braced himself as he felt the human move and heard him speak, but opened his eyes to look at Logan when he took in what he was saying.

 

“S-So...You aren’t planning on doing any experiments on me?” Roman asked hesitantly, not wanting to get his hopes up just for them to once again be crushed.

 

 

“No, I’m not.” Logan assured him, shaking his head. “I understand that my curiosity would make you nervous, but rest assured it lies wholly in the realm of observation, not experimentation.” 

 

“Oh.” Roman wiped the tears from his eyes. His face was probably all puffy now and he felt embarrassed at having broken down like that. Though, he still thinks he had good reason to. 

 

“It was just, you never actually told me anything and I know I got you pretty...annoyed...from the whole car thing.” Roman said, not meeting Logan’s eyes. 

 

 

Logan blinked. “Roman, just because I get annoyed doesn’t mean I’m going to _ torture _ you.” Logan was beginning to realize how Roman saw him. The thought was troubling, and he felt the need to correct it. “I’m not a  _ monster _ .”

 

 

Roman’s eyes widened. “I...no, you’re a human.” Roman once again cast his eyes away. “And I was always taught that they were  _ worse _ .”

 

Logan looked down at the floor. Once again Roman was being overdramatic of course, considering the fact that the term ‘monster’ is general and can be applied to multiple creatures including humans, meaning that humans cannot be inherently  _ worse _ than monsters. But Logan understood the true implication of Roman’s words and found it was better to focus on the issues of Roman’s wording than to allow his words to sink in.

 

Logan didn’t know how to respond to him. What was the correct thing to say when a tiny person just declared you and your species are horrible, terrifying beings? 

 

“Just because you were taught something, doesn’t mean it’s true.” Logan said after a long pause.

 

“Maybe. But, it wasn’t like we were taught this without evidence. You think you’re the only human who has ever found a borrower before?” Roman asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because it has happened, not a lot, mind you, but still. And...well, none of the stories were exactly happily ever afters.” Roman’s face was sad as he talked, as he thought back to all the stories his mom would tell him.

 

“And before you say anything about them being made up or taken out of context or whatever.” Roman sighed. “My mom’s friend was one of them. My own mother watched from afar, helpless, as her best friend was captured by a human.” Tears once again pricked his already puffy eyes, but he refused to let them fall again. 

 

“She watched...She watched as the human started off curious, much like you. But things turned messy, she tried running away and the human, he-” Roman looked down, eyes sad but angry. “He killed her, like it was nothing. Threw her down the trash disposal and never looked back. My mom ended up moving away as fast as she could.”

 

“So, yeah, maybe  _ some _ humans aren’t  _ all _ bad. But we can’t afford to take that chance.” Roman paused for a moment. “And that was just one of many different outcomes to being captured. And you know what? It’s not even the worst one.” Roman added. Finally lifting his head and looking back up at Logan.

 

Logan felt like he might throw up. He was never one for gore or violence, he had too weak a stomach. He slid down onto the ground, sitting with his back to the lab table and letting out a groan. He took a few deep breaths, staring straight ahead.

 

“Roman…” Logan searched for the right words to say and came up empty. Again. If only he was more like Patton, maybe none of this would have happened. “I’m… I’m so sorry.” That’s what people said in these situations, right? 

 

“It’s…” What? Fine? No, it wasn’t, Roman would be a dirty liar if he said that. “It is what it is.” Roman shrugged, face sad.

 

Logan was quiet for a moment. “It’s true that many humans are evil creatures.” Logan admitted. “In fact there are many philosophers who argue that humans are inherently evil. Others argue that everyone is born pure and are merely corrupted by the world as they mature. Whatever the case, I’m perturbed by the fact that it’s very likely borrowers have been harmed by humans if discovered in the past. I would not put it past mankind.” 

 

Logan had not expected to get so philosophical today, and it made his mind take an unpleasant turn. Really ever since meeting Roman it had been one whole morale conundrum, seeing as it could be considered incredibly inhumane to keep Roman captive as Logan was doing. It made Logan’s mind hurt as he found himself caught in a battle between the pursuit of discovery and doing what is right. 

 

Patton would choose doing what is right, every time. Logan was not Patton. Perhaps the world would be better off if there were more Patton’s than Logan’s, Logan supposed.

 

“However,” Logan turned his head so that he could look up at Roman on the table. “I like to think that I’m a nicer human than those in your stories, despite my lack of people skills.”

 

Roman blinked and exhaled. “Despite the fact I’m still technically here against my will...I wouldn’t consider you bad. Not great, but...I don’t think you’re going to hurt me, at least, not anymore.” Roman offered him a small smile.

 

Logan smiled back. “Well, good. Because I’m not going to hurt you.”  It wasn’t a glowing review, but Logan considered it good enough for now. Borrowers were more complicated than Logan had first anticipated, so it was a miracle he had gained any trust at all. 

 

Logan stood up, dusting off his pants. “I just have to finish cleaning up and then we can leave.”

 

“Good. The sooner we can get out of here the better.” Roman said and watched as Logan continued cleaning up his desk. As Logan was almost done, Roman felt a familiar pain go through his stomach and a few moments later it growled. Roman winced and placed a hand on his stomach, but for the most part he was used to the feeling of hunger.

 

 

Logan paused in his work, hearing a strange sound emitting from Roman’s direction. Looking over and evaluating his body language, Logan quickly caught on.

 

“We can get some food when we get home as well.” Logan stated, getting back to work. 

 

Roman blinked, a light blush on his cheeks at knowing that Logan had heard that. But the thought of food just sounded too good. Roman smiled.

 

“Thank you.” 

 

 

Logan nodded in response. He finished packing away the last few items, taking care to put back the more delicate equipment properly.

 

“What do borrowers eat?” Logan asked, trying to plan ahead... as well as gain more information since Roman seemed to be in a more conversational mood again.

 

“Anything you humans do.” Roman answered, shrugging. “Whatever we can find out and about or left out. We’re not picky.”

 

“No aversions to certain foods?” Logan walked back over to Roman, grabbing the computer bag off the table. “Allergies? Certain components that your body is incapable of processing?”

 

 

“Not that I know of and as long as it isn’t poisoned we’ll eat it. Borrowers never know when they’ll get their next meal after all, so you have to make everything you find count.” Roman eyed the bag and wondered if Logan was going to grab him again.

 

 

Just as Roman predicted, Logan grabbed Roman off the table, albeit more gently than previously. “Er, brace yourself.” Logan warned him, remembering Roman asking for a warning before setting Roman in the bag.

 

Roman sighed as he was grabbed and placed into the bag once again, but at least this time Logan gave him a warning. He settled into a sitting position as his body moved with the gentle sway of the bag. 

 

Logan locked the lab up before heading out to his car. He paused, glancing at the floor where he had placed the bag earlier. Logan lifted the bag up onto his lap and looked down into it. “Roman, if I put the bag on the ground again, are we going to have a repeat of before?”

 

Roman’s face went red. “No, it won’t. Promise.” Roman wasn’t  _ that _ stupid. He knew if he tried again the results would be the same.

 

“Alright.” Logan nodded. Having Roman’s word, he set the bag down on the ground and started the car. 


	6. The Questioning Continues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Roman and Logan eat, Logan has some more questions to ask.

 The ride was an uneventful few minutes. Logan parked the car and couldn’t help but check that Roman was still in the bag. After seeing the borrower still chilling at the bottom of the main compartment, Logan made the careful trek back up the stairs to his apartment on the fifth floor. Once inside, Logan went straight to the kitchen. He grabbed Roman and set him back on the counter, tossing the computer bag in the direction of the living room.

 Roman dusted himself off as he was set down. He looked to see where they were, realizing that he was back on the counter, where they had started. He glanced in the direction of the toaster and his hidden entrance into the walls. Noticing that Logan was distracted, Roman started to slowly sneak over in that direction.

 “Anything in particular you want to eat?” Logan asked, already rummaging through the fridge for some fresh fruit.

 “Uh…” Roman continued inching his way to his door. “I’m okay with anything. Like I said, we’re not exactly picky.”

 Logan glanced over to examine him for vitamin deficiencies, only to see him inching across the counter similarly to when they first met. “…Roman.”

 Roman stopped. “Yeah?”

 “What are you doing?”

 Roman glanced from his door to Logan, but didn’t bother trying to run towards it again, knowing Logan  _would_  catch him. He debated with himself for a moment, before sighing. “I was…trying to leave.” Roman said, pointing towards the toaster.

 Logan walked over to the counter, moving the toaster out of the way. Examining the wall closely, Logan could see the tiniest dent which must have been some sort of entryway into the walls. Logan sighed before pressing the toaster up against the wall, blocking the hole before returning to the fridge.

 Roman sighed, but had expected something like that to happen. He still had one more exit, but that was all the way in Logan’s room, underneath the bed. And he’s pretty sure Logan isn’t about to let him out of sight.

 Logan began pulling out an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables, setting them on the counter as he dug further. He knew that Roman looked like he could probably need a well-balanced meal, but now Logan was stuck trying to figure out what to give someone a few inches tall that would still be packed with enough nutrients. After all, he could hardly eat a whole serving.

 Maybe it would be best to test Roman’s diet first to see what the borrower was most partial to eating. Roman said that anything was fine, but Logan knew that even creatures without allergies had preferences.

 So, Logan decided to make up more of a sample platter, pulling out cheese, peanut butter, bread, and a few assorted lunch meats. These he began to cut up into much smaller portions, arranging them on a plate with the fruits and vegetables.

 “Here you are.” Logan said, setting down the plate a few inches from Roman before going to prepare food for himself.

 Roman blinked at the amount of food that was put in front of him. Things that he would never be able to get otherwise. He didn’t even recognize some of the kinds of meat, fruits, and veggies on it, but it honestly looked amazing. Much better than a lone chip left on the floor of someone’s kitchen.

 The borrower went up towards the platter of food, not even knowing where to start. He picked up what he knew to be a grape and took a large bite. Juice dribbled down his chin and onto his clothes, but Roman was too hungry to care. This was  _good_.

 Before he knew it, he moved onto the cheese, then the meat, taking a few bites out of everything. Roman hadn’t eaten like this in…well, never. If there was one good thing about being trapped here with Logan, it was definitely this.

 Logan looked back at the plate, surprised to see Roman ravenously consuming everything available. His pace was a bit concerning, like an inmate who just got out and didn’t know how to pace himself after a period of starvation.

 “Roman, you might want to slow down.” Logan advised.

 Roman paused mid-bite and glanced towards Logan. Realizing what he must have looked like, he blushed a deep red, and consciously started chewing slower. He swallowed the food before muttering an apology. It didn’t stop him from taking another bite though.

 Logan looked at Roman, eyebrows furrowed. “How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

 Roman thought it over for a moment, taking another bite as he did so. “Um…I think it was like yesterday morning? Someone left half a cracker out on their counter and I ate that.”

 Logan frowned. Though it was possible that borrowers did not need to eat as often as humans, the pace at which Roman had been eating suggested otherwise. Not to mention, a cracker was not exactly the most balanced breakfast.

 “I doubt that’s sanitary.” Logan pointed out. “And only a cracker? Did you balance it out with anything?”

 Roman raised an eyebrow. “Maybe not, but we can’t exactly worry about things like germs when that’s the only thing we’ll get for a few days.” He grabbed a piece of celery and dipped it into the peanut butter, taking a bite.

 “And no, like I said, it was the only thing I found.”

 “But… that’s not…” Logan had to take a deep breath. “Roman, it’s incredibly unwise to go for long periods of time without food and scarf it down between. If there wasn’t a consistent food supply here, you should have chosen a different place of residency.”

 “Hate to break it to ya, but borrowers are going to have a hard time finding food no matter  _where_  they live. And being in places that do, like say a restaurant, are much more dangerous to live at.” The amount of humans in places like those, Roman shivered at the thought.

 “It’s not like we have a choice of when and how much food we eat. Can’t exactly go right up to the humans and ask for anything.” He assumed Logan remembered the little story he had told him earlier and why that would be a bad idea.

 Logan considered this. It was strange to think about how borrowers existed, considering the fact that it seemed as though they were incapable of taking care of themselves. Their existence revolved around stealing materials and shelter from humans, and yet even then their standard of living remained so low.

 Despite Roman’s (understandable) concerns, perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps borrowers would be better off if humans knew of their existence so that they could provide proper resources for survival.

 “At least that isn’t the case now.” Logan pointed out, taking a bite of the sandwich he prepared for himself. He swallowed. “I don’t want you to go hungry because you felt you couldn’t ask.”

 “No…I suppose not.” Roman admitted. He took one more bite of food, before realizing he didn’t feel like eating anymore. Huh…was this what it felt like to be full? He put the food down and stepped away from the platter, only now seeing how dirty he had gotten.

 “Um, do you have a napkin or something I could use? Er, please?” Roman asked, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

 Logan nodded, walking over and retrieving a napkin from the holder on the kitchen table and giving it to Roman.

 “Thanks nerd.” Roman said, a slight smirk at the nickname. He cleaned himself off with the napkin, actually able to get most of the juice and food off of him. When he was done, he looked at the napkin and then around him, wondering what he was supposed to do with it.

 Logan finished up his food and began taking care of the dirty dishes, washing them before being set to the side to dry. Noticing Roman looking confused, Logan took the napkin from him and deposited it in the trash.

 After drying off his hands to be sure they were clean, Logan grabbed Roman and made his way back to the desk in his bedroom, depositing Roman on the wooden surface. He pulled out his notebook and pen, ready to get back to where he left off.

 Roman hated to admit that he was slowly getting used to being grabbed without warning. Didn’t mean he liked it any better though. When he saw Logan take out the notebook and pen, he knew where this was going.

 “Back to playing twenty questions?”

 “If it makes you more comfortable to refer to it that way, then yes.” Logan answered. Personally he preferred the term research, but he didn’t want to make Roman freak out again with any scientific language if he could help it.

 “Alright.” Logan opened up his notebook to review what his last entry was- apparently he had just scribbled down the word ‘stubborn’. Looking further back, he had been asking about the other borrowers in the building. Logan decided it would be best to avoid that topic if he wanted to gain more information, considering how Roman had shut up about it.

 Logan jotted down a few paragraphs detailing his findings at the lab and about Roman’s diet before he could forget. Then he turned back to Roman. “So what exactly do borrowers borrow?”

 “Uh…” Roman blinked. “Everything?”

 “Well of course everything you, er,  _own_  is borrowed.” Logan replied. “But I meant what human things. It’s clear you borrow food supplies, and you mentioned a ruler earlier. What else do borrowers often take? Do you take everything or is there a difference between junk and useful pieces? Do you take only for survival or is there also objects that are borrowed simply because they are pretty or valuable?”

 “Oh, well, to borrowers almost everything has some value. Even things humans would consider trash, like candy wrappers, we can use to make clothes or tablecloths. We try to borrower things like soap and old pieces of cloth as well. Socks are always good, since they make good blankets. There isn’t anything I can think of that we would borrow and  _not_  use in some way.” Roman was more than happy to answer questions like that, as long as Logan continued to stay away from questions that would put the other borrowers in the complex at risk.

 Huh. It seemed to Logan that not only did borrowers get their materials from humans, but they also used the materials to create miniature copies of items used in everyday life in order to replicate a human lifestyle as well. Logan added this to his notebook. They also seemed incredibly resourceful; but, that was to be expected if your existence depended on a larger race failing to notice supplies disappearing.

 “Is there any sort of economy or trade system between others of your kind?” Logan asked, forgetting his goal to avoid the topic of other borrowers.

Roman tensed, but realized he could answer this question without revealing anyone. “Nope, at least, not on a global scale. I’m sure some have trades set up, but for the most part, it’s every borrower for themselves.”

 “Interesting.” Logan would have thought that there would have been a trade system in place, since borrowers (or at least Roman) seemed very protective of each other and would likely want to ‘share the wealth’, so to speak. But given Roman’s state of eating, perhaps there wasn’t much ‘wealth’ to go around.

 “So let’s say a new borrower were to come to your- well, however much space you claim as ‘yours’.” Logan was unsure if borrowers would divide up borrowing areas by apartment, building, block, or some other system. Perhaps they didn’t divide it up at all and everyone had access to every space. “Well actually, do you have any area that it’s either a spoken or unspoken rule that only you are allowed to go? Or is there no privacy in your culture if others are around?”

 “Okay, maybe saying that every borrower was for themselves was the wrong thing to say.” Roman admitted, not meaning it like how Logan seemed to be taking it. “There really isn’t any privacy and borrowers are more than happy to share and house other borrowers if they need it. No matter how much they themselves actually have.” Roman was reminded of when he first met Virgil. Because Virgil had come to him and Roman had housed him for months until Virgil felt ready to live on his own. Of course, he stayed in the same complex, which Roman was thankful for. Considering they had become good friends.

 Roman also realized something, based on the questions Logan was asking. “Logan, how many of us do you think there are?”

 “Well, there’s 7.6 billion humans on earth.” Logan began crunching the numbers. “I would assume that borrowers would have to reproduce more frequently, given that your chance of survival is significantly lower. However, due to the same survival statistic, the fatality rates would be increasingly high and it’s likely that entire small communities could be wiped out at once, either by a, er, physical threat or by disease- especially given your lack of concern about sanitation. There’s also the fact that every household wouldn’t be livable for borrowers, so I’ll just throw out a random guess and say there is a borrower, alone or a community, within one in every… oh, 30 households. So at least…” Logan paused to do the math in his head, then pulled out his phone to check his math. “Approximately 253 million borrowers.”


	7. Phones and Boxes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman messes with Logan's phone and tries once again to escape.

 Roman was getting lost in Logan’s little tangent, but finally zoned back in when the human gave him an actual number. Roman gave him a sad smile. “It’s nice that you think there are so many of us, but...Well, I personally only know three borrowers outside my family, my family knows five and they all belong to the same family. Not to mention the fact that I don’t have anyone but my parents in my family. So...if your numbers really were accurate, I would think I would know a lot more borrowers.”

 Logan considered this new information. unwittingly given. Three, there were at most three borrowers still hiding in this building. It was possible that Roman had known some of these borrowers before leaving his childhood home or only met them in passing; regardless, unless Roman was lying, there was somewhere between one and three borrowers in the apartment complex.

 “It’s possible that my number is not 100% accurate, given my limited knowledge of borrowers.” Logan admitted, setting his phone down on the desk. “However, my number was based on borrower families being separated by 30 houses. Since you said you didn’t travel far, it would be likely that you don’t know many borrowers because you didn’t travel far enough. I’m sure the wider of a radius you travel, the more borrowers you would meet.”

 Roman bit his lip. “Maybe…” Roman honestly wasn’t too sure about that thought. The amount of borrowers living had always been a sore topic for his kind. It was only recently that they accepted the fact.

 “There’s no ‘maybe’ about it.” Logan corrected. “If I were to increase my radius, I would meet more humans. I chose to actively avoid that, but if I changed my mind I could increase my radius to hypothetically meet every human being on the planet. Instead I keep my radius small, only large enough to include my hometown and the university, which means that it is impossible for me to have met every human.”

 “The same would go for borrowers, especially since you indicated there are borrowers who travel great distances, by borrower standards. And you have to account for the fact that every borrower you come in contact with must have a family of sorts due to the nature of reproduction, and if you haven’t met their family that’s at least a few borrowers out of your current range.”

 “I guess…” Roman said. Man, Logan sure did love his rants. Roman was pretty sure he zoned off somewhere in the middle there. But maybe Logan was right, maybe there were more borrowers than any of them thought. Roman could only hope.

 Roman looked around the desk, starting to get bored just standing there. He noticed a device laying on Logan’s left and started towards it. It looked familiar, something he had seen humans use countless times, whether they talked into it or simply stared at it. Roman believed it was a called a phone.

 He circled it, inspecting every inch of it. This was the first time he had ever gotten close to something like this. After all, humans were very much attached to these things. Trying to take one would be a death wish. He clicked down on a button near the bottom of the screen and the phone lit up. Roman blinked at it in awe, noticing it showed not only the time, but a picture of Logan and another man with a similar pair of glasses. The other human was smiling wide, while Logan was rolling his eyes. Roman, however, did notice the small smile on his face.

 The present Logan paused his mathematical rant, as clearly Roman had moved on. Now Logan was torn between wanting to observe Roman and not liking when people touched his things. He decided to force himself to let it slide. “That’s a phone, Roman.”

 Roman glared at Logan. “Yes, I know what a phone is.” Roman paused. “Er, sort of.” He put a hand to the screen and it reacted a bit. Roman blinked, before reading what it said at the bottom. ‘Slide to unlock’. Roman followed the instructions, sliding his hand across the phone. A new thing popped up, showing him numbers. Tilting his head, Roman tapped on zero four times. It shook angrily at him before going back to the picture of Logan and his friend.

 “You can’t unlock it, it’s password protected.” Logan explained. “That means you have to type the correct four numbers in order or it won’t open.”

 “Oh.” Roman stared at the phone for a moment, before turning back towards Logan. “Well, what’s the password?”

 “I’d rather not say.” Logan replied. “I don’t like others going into my phone.”

 “Aww, come on. Please?” Roman put on his patented puppy dog eyes. They weren’t as good as Virgil’s, but they did work. “I’ve been answering all your questions and I’m bored.”

 Logan considered this. Perhaps they could take a short break. He knew (from Patton telling him so) that his bombardment of questions could often annoy others.

 “We can take a break for a little while.” Logan caved. He slowly grabbed the phone off the desk and lifted it up, not wanting to startle Roman but also wanting to type in the password himself. With a practiced hand, Logan typed the numbers ‘7437’. He looked down at the borrower. “What do borrowers usually do when they’re bored? I can’t imagine it involves my phone.”

 “Well, when I’m bored I usually go off exploring, but I can’t exactly do that right now.” He sent Logan a look before continuing. “Besides, I’ve never seen a phone up close, let alone messed with one. I’m curious why you humans are so obsessed with it.” Roman really didn’t understand. Why stay inside on such a device when there was adventures to be had outside! Humans didn’t know how lucky they were in that regard. They had opportunities for adventures Roman would never experience.

 The phrasing ‘messed with one’ did not fill Logan with confidence. He clicked on one of the simple gaming apps Patton kept on his phone and set it back on the desk, hoping it would simultaneously keep Roman busy and keep him from messing with anything important on the device. Nevertheless, Logan leaned forward to keep a close eye on Roman’s actions.

 Roman was now faced with a colorful screen with a little yellow bird and words that read ‘Flappy Bird’. Raising an eyebrow, Roman took a quick glance at Logan before tapping on the screen to start. He watched as the bird flapped once before falling down. The screen cut to some numbers and large letters that read ‘GAME OVER’. Roman blinked and looked up at Logan with confusion.

 “What?” Logan asked. “Done already?” He didn’t realize borrower attention spans were so short.

 “No.” Roman answered. “I just have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing. What even is this?” Roman asked, looking back at the screen. Was this really what people used phones for?

 “It’s supposed to be fun.” Logan explained. “Or so they tell me- personally, I find things like this trivial. You’re supposed to keep tapping the screen and not die.”

 Roman hummed, and tapped the phone to start once again. This time he kept tapping, getting past the first pipe, however he hit the next one, causing the same ‘GAME OVER’ screen to appear. Roman furrowed his eyes and retried. This time getting past three before dying. Roman started the game up  _again_ , this time not even making it past the first one. He growled in frustration, but could see how addicting this could be to other humans.

 He went ahead and played it five more times, his high-score coming up to 15. But on his last run, he almost beat it, only to die just before he could. “Motherplucker!” He swore. This game was stupid.

 He glanced down at the button he had pressed to turn the phone on, wondering what would happen if he pressed it again. So he did. The game closed and he was suddenly faced with a lot of squares. All with different pictures on them. The background seemed to be of space.

 “What are all of these?” Roman asked in awe, unaware that there were so many things. And here he was playing a stupidly hard game.

 “Okay, that’s enough.” Logan said, reaching for the phone.

 “What? No!” Roman planted himself on top of the phone, so Logan couldn’t simply grab it. “Come on, you have like, a million things on here. I want to know what they are!” Besides, Roman was not yet ready to go back and answer questions.

 Logan grabbed Roman in his left hand, pulling him off the phone. He considered Roman’s words carefully. He did enjoy educating others; it was why he was going into the Education field after college.

 “Fine, but no more touching.” Logan picked up the phone in his right hand and set Roman down. He held the phone vertically, low enough so Roman could see. “I don’t want you to press the wrong button and ruin everything.”

 Roman grumbled as he was set back down, hating how Logan could pick him up like it was nothing. Also, he hated the fact he could no longer touch the phone, but at least he could still see how it worked up close.

 “Fine.” Roman huffed, but settled down so he was sitting a few inches away from the phone.

 “Good.” Logan nodded. “So, which app do you want to know about first?”

 “Um...How about that one?” Roman said, pointing towards the bottom corner that appeared green with a strange picture on it that Roman couldn’t quite place.

 “That’s the phone app.” Logan said, clicking on it. “This here-” He scrolled through his contacts, “-is the list of other humans’ phone numbers. If I were to click on one, it would call them and I could hear their voice, having a conversation as if we’re in the same room despite being miles apart.”

 “Whoa.” So  _that’s_  what all the humans were doing when they talked into it. Interesting. “I wish we had something like that.” Roman thought aloud, it would make keeping in contact with his family so much easier.

 “Well I would guess that it would be difficult to borrow the materials necessary to build tiny phones.” Logan reasoned. “After all, everything within this piece of technology is valuable and a person would be sure to notice any of it missing. Not to mention, it is currently impossible to build a microchip small enough for a phone to your scale. Although it would be possible for you to have an older computer model made of modern parts, which while you would still be behind in technological advances its would dramatically boost your current pace in evolution, assuming borrowers would ever create an information age at all which seems unlikely given the lack of  _any_  trade or communication routes.”

 “Um...yeah.” Roman once again zoned out somewhere in the middle, focusing back on the phone and the other ‘apps’ as Logan called them. “What about that one?” The picture for this one looked familiar, but Roman couldn’t for the life of him place why.

 “The camera?” Logan pulled the phone up and back towards him, opening the camera app and taking a picture of Roman. He put the phone back in its original position. “It does this. It takes a picture, which is a frozen visual of an object. For example, this is what you looked like a few seconds ago.”

 Roman blinked when a picture of himself was on the phone. His eyes then widened, when he realized how very bad this could be. “That’s, uh, great, but could you delete that please?” Roman asked, trying to stay calm. Hoping Logan would listen.

 “Of course.” Logan understood why, but it still upset him slightly to get rid of evidence of Roman’s existence. It almost made Logan forget all this was real. Nevertheless, Logan deleted it.

 Roman sighed in relief when the photo was whisked away. “Thank you.” At least Logan was willing to listen to him on these types of things. In fact, the only thing he really wasn’t good at was listening to his pleas of wanting to be let go. He was pretty good with everything else though.

 Roman stood up and stretched before walking closer to the phone, trying to look through all the apps. Seeing one that had a green circle on it, he reached out a hand, forgetting what Logan told him before. “What’s this one?” He asked, tapping it open.

 “Don’t-!” Logan reached out to cancel, but Spotify re-opened from earlier in his day and began playing the next in his playlist:  _~LAFAYETTE I’m taking this horse by the reigns making redcoats redder with bloodstains LAFAYETTE and I’m never gonna~_  Logan quickly shut it off, giving Roman a stern look.

 “I told you not to touch anything.” Logan reminded him.

 Roman was just getting into the music when Logan shut it off. “Hey, why’d you turn it off! It was just getting good!” Of course Roman had heard music before, but nothing ever like that.

 Logan scoffed. “Of course it’s good, it’s Hamilton.” He muttered to himself. Logan glanced at the clock on the top of the screen, noticing that it was getting pretty late. “I think that’s enough of a break.”

 “Aww.” Roman whined, knowing that would mean more questions. Not only was he getting tired of them, but he felt guilty answering them. As if he was betraying his whole kind by doing so. He needed to do something, something that would keep him from answering questions.

 Roman got an idea.

 But first he needed to distract Logan. Preferably, by making him rant. Which shouldn’t be hard.

 “Fine, but can you at least tell me what the song was from? What’s Hamilton?”

 “Well, Alright. Hamilton is a musical written by the  _genius_  Lin-Manuel Miranda.” Logan immediately launched into an explanation, very knowledgeable on his now not-so-secret theater guilty pleasure. “It follows the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of America. It starts by explaining how he got into the then colonies- the United States of America used to be made up of those instead of states- and then it begins the story with him meeting Aaron Burr, his idol and eventual killer. The audience is made aware of this irony in the first song as a plot device. Alexander then goes on to meet three other founders, including Lafayette who was mentioned in the song you overheard-”

 Roman was barely listening as he slowly started to settle down. First into a seated position before carefully laying down on top of the desk. He kept a close eye on Logan the entire time, but he was much too focused on what he was actually saying, not even glancing in his direction as he continued to rant.

 Perfect.

 He closed his eyes and evened out his breathing. He had to appear as if he were truly asleep or this would never work. He forced his body to relax, surprisingly not as hard as he thought that might be to do. He left a few strands of hair fall into his eyes and waited for Logan to notice.

 “-so then Phillip, who if you remember is played by the same man who died as John Lawrence in the first act, is  _murdered_  when he’s still in his prime as an unfortunate effect of Hamilton’s unchecked pride and even though in reality it happened a few hundred years ago it is  _still_  difficult to come to terms with this tragedy. Now Angelica begins a ballad describing how the Hamilton family deals with this grief, and…”

 Logan looked down, trailing off. It seemed that Roman had fallen asleep. That had to be the first time he had actually made someone so bored that they slept- usually they just told him to stop talking. Although glancing at the clock, Logan also realized it was very late. It was possible Roman was just exhausted.

 Logan scolded himself for getting too caught up in Hamilton. He would rather know exactly when Roman fell asleep so he could time it and record borrower sleeping habits.

 Then again, it was possible Roman was faking it. He poked Roman’s side gently, just to be sure.

 Roman wasn’t expecting to be poked in the side, but was proud to say he didn’t react to it. No matter how much he wanted to. He continued as he was.

 Logan hummed to himself, wondering what to do now. He considered taking a picture of Roman now, but ultimately decided against it- breaking Roman’s trust would be cruel, and unproductive. Instead Logan decided to simply examine the real thing. Not wanting to wake Roman, Logan leaned in, adjusting his glasses. He could see his breath rustling the tiny hairs on Roman’s head he was so close. At this distance, it was easier to see what appeared to be tiny stitches and adjustments made to the doll clothing Roman wore. Unfortunately, no amount of squinting made it clearer.

 Roman didn’t dare open his eyes, but he could tell that Logan was suddenly a lot closer than before. He could feel the human’s breath, like a slight breeze. Roman had to be extra careful to not mess up. Especially if Logan was taking such a close look at him.

 Still, the thought of Logan doing this if he was truly asleep did not sit right with him at all.

 Getting an idea, Logan leaned back and began to dig in a desk drawer. He pulled out his magnifying glass, which was more commonly used to cosplay Sherlock Holmes than it was to actually magnify things. This time, however, it could prove useful.

 Logan held it the proper distance from Roman, taking in everything. At this magnification he could see Roman’s facial features clearly, smushed up against the desk like a true college student. In fact, it looked rather uncomfortable. Logan looked around his room, trying to figure out what might be a better sleeping surface for the borrower. Maybe a shoe box with a plush towel? Or a very small blanket?

 Logan looked again at Roman’s figure, seemingly sound asleep. He set down the magnifying glass on the desk. He didn’t want to wake Roman, but all the spare blankets were in the living room. He decided against waking Roman, assuring himself that even if Roman woke up he wouldn’t get far. With this line of thinking, Logan got up and left.

 Roman hadn’t expected to hear Logan get up, nor the sound of the door opening. Roman remained still for a few more moments before risking opening his eyes.

 Logan was gone.

 He had actually left Roman alone, for the first time since he had been found. Granted, Logan thought he was asleep, but still. This was the best possible outcome Roman could have hoped for.

 He quickly stood up and went over to the edge of the desk. He didn’t have his hook on him, but it wasn’t that far of a jump down to the chair. And from the chair he had more of a stable way to climb down. So, he took a breath and jumped, landing on the soft cushion almost perfectly. He smiled to himself while quickly climbing the rest of the way down.

 Once he was on the floor, he started running towards the bed. It was a good thing he was in Logan’s room to begin with, or this would have been a lot more difficult. His only other exit was just underneath, all he had to do was get to it and he was home free.

 But when he got under the bed, he stopped in his tracks. Noticing the rather large box of... _something_  underneath. Which just so happened to be blocking his exit.

 He cursed. There was no way Logan had done this on purpose, the box must have been there for some time, but Roman was still frustrated. That had been his last chance to get away. Now, he was  _truly_  trapped. Logan wasn’t going to let him go, at least not anytime soon, the human had already made that perfectly clear.

 Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. Still, the feeling of sadness and helplessness had a strong hold on his heart.


	8. Options

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan gives Roman two options to choose from. Roman wouldn't exactly call those options.

 Meanwhile, Logan gave a slight noise of victory after finding the blanket he was looking for tucked under the bottom of the pile. He emptied out a box of the appropriate size and brought it with him to the bedroom. Eyes going immediately to the desk, Logan found Roman to be nowhere in sight. Thinking quickly, Logan scanned the floor space right at his feet and back into the hall where he just came from; when Roman was not spotted, Logan closed the door, fairly safe in the knowledge that Roman had to be somewhere in this room.

 ...unless, of course, Roman was in the  _walls_. Logan thought back to Roman’s escape attempts on the kitchen counter and the hidden door behind the toaster. He wouldn’t be surprised to find several such doors in every room of his house.

 Logan kept his eyes on the ground, watching for any quick, tiny movements.

 Roman tensed when he felt the vibrations in the floor and quickly turned to see that Logan had once again entered the room. He watched carefully as Logan stood in the middle of the floor, most likely having noticed the fact that Roman was missing, before closing the door to the room.  _Further_  trapping Roman.

 Roman silently debated with himself on whether or not he should just show himself, but that would mean going back to the infinite amount of questions he was sure Logan had. Besides that, even though he knew Logan already knew about him, he couldn’t just walk out and have himself be seen. It went against his instincts, instincts that didn’t just up and disappear because one human knew about him.

 So, even though he knew eventually he would be found, he stayed where he was. Watching to see what Logan was going to do.

 “Roman?” Logan called out, feigning confidence in his words. “I know you’re in here.”

 Roman  _actually_  thought about answering Logan this time, which honestly surprised him, but he pushed it down and ultimately decided on staying silent.

 Logan paused, hearing nothing. He went over to check the desk for clues, even using the magnifying glass for assistance. With it in hand, he also closely examined the back wall aligned with the desk for any entrances; when none were found, Logan re-examined the room.

 Roman was nowhere to be seen out in the open, so he must be hiding… or long gone. Logan looked at his hand to try and gauge how big Roman was in comparison to the room. Logan laid down on the floor, looking under his dresser first to try and see if Roman would even fit. Then he began to grope in the darkness underneath, hoping to feel the little borrower again.

 Roman continued to watch as Logan eventually got down onto the floor, he braced himself to meet the human’s eyes, but saw instead Logan was faced in another direction. Looking underneath the dresser. Or, more so, feeling underneath the dresser for him. Roman winced, glad he wasn’t under there, but knowing it was just a matter of time before Logan came to check under the bed.

 He thought about moving from underneath the bed, but decided against it.

 “C’mon Roman.” Logan said, although he was sounding a bit unsure. Logan got up for a moment, scanning the floor again before moving on to under the bed. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness; there, amongst the various boxes of storage Logan had shoved under the bed, hid the tiny figure of Roman.

 “There you are.” Relief flashed on Logan’s face before it disappeared, Logan still trying to keep up the act that he knew Roman could be found the whole time.

 “Yep.” Roman replied sadly, making no sign of moving.

 Logan waited a moment, surprised to see Roman neither running towards or away from him. It was strange to see him so stationary by choice. “Roman, please come out.”

 “Sorry, don’t really feel like it.” Roman shrugged. Honestly, finding his only other way out had been blocked had put him in a bit of a depressed mood.

 Logan paused before reaching out his arm and grabbing Roman, pulling him back out into the light of the bedroom. Logan sat up, bringing Roman closer to examine him. Perhaps he was still tired? Although based on the distance Roman had traveled and how long Logan was gone, Logan suspected Roman was just faking sleep earlier. Roman was more clever than he thought, which meant he would have to be careful.

 “Are you alright?” Logan asked, concerned.

 “Fantastic.” Roman said sarcastically. Squirming a little in the grip.

 “Alright, if you say so.” Logan was not convinced. Most of Roman’s energy seemed to be gone; what had happened while Logan left? Logan could understand feeling deflated if he had caught Roman in the middle of an escape attempt towards the walls again, but Roman had just been sitting there. And why did he feel the need to sit in the dark under the bed instead of on the desk?

 Speaking of the desk, Logan glanced back to it where the notebook still sat. Of course he was still curious about borrowers, but right now he was a bit more concerned for Roman’s well-being. Not to mention, it didn’t seem Roman wanted to talk anymore, and Logan was still resolute about not forcing answers out of the little guy.

 Wondering if it was possibly an illness (especially given Roman’s track record with sanitation), Logan gently pressed his thumb up to Roman’s forehead.

 Roman squeaked in surprise as Logan’s thumb touched his head. “Wh-What are you doing?” Roman asked, trying to twist away, but to no avail.

 “I’m checking your temperature to see if you have a fever.” Logan replied, removing his thumb. “I was wondering if you’re ill.”

 Roman was still tense even as Logan’s thumb moved away. “I’m not sick.”

 “How can you be sure?” Logan asked. “In fact, given your lack of affiliation with humans it’s entirely possible that you contracted any number of diseases I’m carrying but unaffected by; however, given the fact that you always live in close proximity to humans I doubt this would be the case. Regardless, illness would explain your sudden change in behavior.”

 Roman sighed. “Trust me, I’m not sick. I would know. Just…” Roman paused for a moment, thinking. “Disappointed.”

 “Disappointed?” Logan raised an eyebrow. What had Roman expected to find under his bed? “Disappointed about what?”

 Roman looked into Logan’s eyes, searching, thinking of what he should say. Even if he told him, would Logan even care? No, probably not. He had seen the relief on Logan’s face when he had found him, had heard it in his voice. Logan was  _very_  glad that Roman was still there. Still trapped with him.

 “I guess...let’s just say you don’t have to worry about me escaping anymore…” Roman said, turning to look away from Logan.

 Logan thought about what Roman said. Could Roman have known that Logan was worried he had gotten into the walls? But if he knew, why would he say that Logan didn’t have to worry anymore? Was he trying to trick Logan so that he could run off into the walls later when Logan was unsuspecting?

 “Why don’t I have to worry?” Logan asked with a quiet voice.

 Roman groaned, Logan was really starting to frustrate him. Was he really gonna make him say it?

 “Because Logan! I had two exits in this entire apartment, one which you blocked with the toaster, if you remember. And the other was under the bed. Unfortunately for me, but I suppose fortunately for  _you_ , the boxes you have stored under the bed have that blocked off. I am completely, 100%  _trapped_.” Roman let out a humorless laugh. “But I’m sure  _you’re_  just  _ecstatic_  about that.”

 Well, yes, Logan did find comfort in the fact that Roman’s exits were blocked off, but even he knew better than to say that now. “Well, for your sake, I’m sorry.” Logan said instead.

 “I’m  _sure_  you are.” Roman said, his words dripping with sarcasm. He rolled his eyes for good measure.

 Logan huffed. “Roman, I am sorry that you feel trapped.”

 Roman grit his teeth. “If you were truly sorry you would  _let me go_!”

 Logan’s first thought was to retort with anger, but looking down at Roman he could suddenly see this passion was masking fear. This made all the anger leave Logan, making him feel guilty inside as he began to get the full brunt of his moral compass screaming at him that all of this was wrong.

 Logan got up and set Roman on the desk, before beginning to pace back and forth as he considered what to do, rubbing his arms nervously.

 Logan didn’t know what to do. His head hurt. It would be illogical to let Roman go- the way things had gone, Roman would never come back. Logan would likely never meet a borrower again. He might even go insane, debating with himself if any of this had ever happened for the rest of his life.

 On the other hand, Roman was basically a person. He didn’t deserve to feel trapped, even if Logan knew that Roman would be fine. Logan wouldn’t bring him harm, and instead could provide protection, shelter, and a better diet. How did zookeepers deal with the guilt of keeping wild animals in captivity? Logan supposed it must be easier when the subject couldn’t scream at you in your own tongue.

 Roman, meanwhile, couldn’t do much of anything other than sit there and watch as Logan seemed to be in deep thought. It frustrated and even scared him to think that Logan had to think what he said over  _this_  much.

 “ _Please_  Logan.” Roman’s voice was quiet, desperate. “Do the right thing.”

 Logan internally groaned at Roman’s words. What was the right thing to do? Keeping Roman would be overall better for his physical health, but would clearly damage his mental health. Releasing him would do the opposite. Keeping Roman would be good for Logan’s curiosity, bad for his guilt. If only there was a way to get the best of both worlds and convince Roman to stay willingly- that way Roman would be fine mentally and Logan’s conscience could go back into hibernation.

 Maybe there was… he would just have to go about it delicately as borrowers seemed to be prideful and independent creatures.

 “Roman.” Logan suddenly stopped pacing, turning quickly on his heel and bringing his hands together to point at the borrower.

 Roman tensed at the sudden declaration of his name. Logan seemed to have found his answer...And Roman was absolutely terrified.

 “Why…” Logan chose his words carefully, trying not to set off Roman again. “Roman, I think it would be most beneficial for you to stay here. Will you hear me out?”

 Roman couldn’t believe his ears. Still,  _still_ , Logan wanted to keep him. After everything Roman has done and said. But of course he did, he was a human after all.

 And as all borrowers knew, humans were worse than monsters.

 “There is nothing that you can say, that would  _ever_  make me think that I would be better off trapped here with you.”

 “Okay, but hear me out anyways.” Logan said, expecting that reaction. “You’re clearly vitamin deficient. If you stayed here, you could have anything you wanted to eat and be healthier than ever before. We can also work something out so you get outside more often, which will provide some much-needed vitamin D and make you less pale.”

 Roman’s eyebrows furrowed. Sure, yeah, that all sounded good on paper. Being able to have meals like he had earlier, to be full after eating, was every borrowers dream. But being trapped by a human was every borrowers  _nightmare_. And the bad definitely outweighed the good.

 “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” Roman argued, even though deep down he knew Logan probably didn’t see it like that.

  _Your physical state says otherwise_. Logan thought to himself. Sure, it was true, but he shouldn’t say it- especially when he was trying to get Roman on his side.

 “I’m well aware you’re capable of taking care of yourself.” Logan agreed. “I’m not saying you’re incompetent, I’m merely saying that I can help alleviate the burden of survival so you don’t always have the stress of finding your next meal or a place to stay or transportation somewhere. Not to mention, you stated yourself that you live alone, which means that there is currently no one helping you despite the fact that you also told me borrowers often live in small groups. I could act as that social link that you cannot achieve alone yet is necessary for mental stability.” (Logan didn’t think his social skills were his strongest point, but figured any company was better than nothing.)

 “I may live alone, but who says that I’m lonely? Maybe I  _like_  being alone, ever thought of that?” To be honest, Roman actually  _hated_  being alone, but he had Virgil. Not that he was going to tell Logan that.

 “I did, actually, think of that.” Logan responded. “And given how much you talk, I came to the conclusion that you are a very sociable creature by nature.”

 “I-you...you don’t know that for sure.” Roman argued quietly. But he knew that Logan had him figured out.

 “It took me a long time to figure out why you couldn’t see the advantages of staying here.” Logan continued, resuming his pacing. “In fact, at first I could only think of the words of H. L. Mencken: ‘ _the average man does not want to be free, he simply wants to be safe_.’ Or similarly, in the words of Adlai Stevenson, ‘ _a hungry man is not a free man_.’ Both imply that mankind seeks stability and survival over the arbitrary trait of ‘freedom’.

 “However, I then remembered the words of Thomas Jefferson, who of course has a character based off him in Hamilton. Jefferson stated: ‘ _I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery_.’ Do you follow me?”

 “Uh...Not really.” Where on earth was Logan going with this?

 “Jefferson’s views align with your own.” Logan explained. “Whereas I thought only of the logistics, you are more concerned about the  _principle_  of freedom. By my guess then,” Logan stopped pacing. “If you were able to come and go as you pleased here, then you would be better off physically, mentally, and, uh, socially.”

 Roman perked up at Logan’s words. That would mean that Logan would allow him to finally  _leave_. And of course if he did, he wouldn’t come back. That would be stupid of him. He’d most likely move buildings completely (of course, dragging Virgil along with him).

 But Logan didn’t need to know that.

 “Actually, that sounds marvelous. Best of both worlds and whatnot, count me in!” Roman said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic, but failing miserably.

 “But, here’s where we come to a problem.” Logan said, coming closer. He leaned down and put his palms on the desk. “If I let you go, you won’t be coming back. It’s not very beneficial having a come-and-go system and only doing one.”

 Roman tried his best not to cower as he found himself in Logan’s shadow, both the human’s hands on either side of him. Logan was incredibly close, probably as close as he had been when Roman was feigning sleep. But it was much more fear inducing when he could actually see.

 “I would...come...back.” Roman tried, but it didn’t help that he himself didn’t believe his words. Not to mention he had already stated before that he would, in fact, never come back if Logan let him go.

 “No, you wouldn’t.” Logan argued. “You’ve made four escape attempts in the last 24 hours and openly declared that you would never come back if I were to let you go.”

 Roman winced. Well, he had him there. “S-So where are you going with this then?” Roman asked, just wanting to know what was going to happen to him. To his life as he knew it.

 “Well, I have two thoughts.” Logan replied, standing up straight again. He held up his pointer finger. “Option 1: you stick around for a long while, until there is enough trust between us that an understanding is truly reached and it is known by both parties that if you leave, you do so with the full intention of coming back.”

 “...And option two?” Roman asked quietly.

 “Option 2:” Logan held up a second finger. “You leave, but I keep some collateral to make sure that you’ll come back.”

 Roman raised an eyebrow. “What kind of...collateral?” What did Roman have that he would come back for?

 Logan took out his phone from his back pocket, wiggling it back and forth in an almost taunting manner.

 Roman’s eyes widened in sudden realization. “But I saw you delete the photo!”

 “I did.” Logan unlocked the phone with his password (7437) and opened the camera app. There was a bright flash, then Logan turned around the phone to reveal a photo of a very worried Roman. “But now I have a new photo.”

 Roman slumped when he saw the new photo. This was  _bad_. This was worse that  _bad_. That photo wouldn’t just be bad for him, but for all borrowers  _everywhere_.

 “You-You can’t be serious…” Roman said, his voice choked.

 “I’m not going to do anything with this now.” Logan assured him, pocketing the phone again. “But if you want me to respect your wishes in regards to the fate of this photo, I expect you to respect your promise when you leave that you’ll come back. Anytime you want to leave this apartment, you are more than welcome to leave- however, if you’re not back within a certain amount of time which will be adjusted by how far you wish to travel, then this photo will be sent out to the top five people in my contacts. After a period of time after that, I will send it to five more people, and repeat that pattern until it has been delivered to every person in my contacts.”

 Roman felt his stomach sink, his legs felt like jelly and he found he could no longer stand. So he sat down before he could fall and looked down at the desk, not able to look at Logan right now. He called those  _options_.

 Option 2  _would_  allow him to leave right this moment, but that was the only good thing about it. What would happen if for whatever reason Roman couldn’t make it back in time? Logan would send those photos out and then those people would send the photo and onwards. It would be  _all Roman’s fault_  that the existence of borrowers would be discovered. His entire race would become pets to the humans...or worse.

 Roman couldn’t take that risk. No matter how much he wanted to leave.

 So, really, he only had one option. An option that would probably never let him leave. But...at least his kind would be safe. No one else would have to suffer at a human’s hands.  _Virgil_  would continue to be free.

 Roman should have known, that Logan would be cruel enough to pull something like this. He was a human after all. Roman was stupid to put  _any_  kind of trust in him. No matter how little that trust had been.

 Roman didn’t bother looking up at Logan as he answered. “...Option 1.”

 “Alright.” Logan said, pulling out his phone and deleting the picture he had taken. He could always take another if Roman planned to leave, and it would be safest for Roman if pictures of him weren’t in existence when they were not needed.

 Logan was very proud of his plan. It helped alleviate his guilt tremendously; after all, he was only bluffing about the pictures. He understood the significance of sharing that photo around and would feel unbelievably guilty if he caused the downfall of an entire species of sentient beings.

 Nevertheless, for this plan to work Roman had to  _think_  that Logan fully intended to share the photos, which had reduced Roman to a depressed ball. It made Logan a bit sad to watch, but he also knew it was for the best. Roman would come out the end of this healthier and better off than any other borrower, and Logan would get to know everything there was to know about the tiny people hiding in the walls.

 But for tonight, Logan doubted he would be able to learn any more. Even Logan could tell that Roman would rather never speak to Logan again. In fact, it was possible that Roman trusted him _less_ than before. No matter; when you hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up.

 Logan crouched down next to the desk to be at eye level with the curled up Roman. “What would you like to do, Roman?”

 “Plucking punch you in the plucking eye you plucking  _monster_.” Roman muttered, but made sure he was loud enough for Logan to hear.

 Logan leaned further away from the table. He wasn’t sure what ‘plucking’ meant, but from Roman’s tone Logan inferred that it was some very unpleasant borrower swear. Roman had a right to be angry, so Logan tried not to take it to heart.

 “Well, I’d rather not get punched in the…  _plucking_  eye.” Logan replied. “So, I’m just going to go get some work done over here. Yell if you need anything.” With this, Logan made his way over to his bed where a scattering of papers and his laptop sat, abandoned since this morning. Logan tossed a few of the currently unnecessary papers to the floor, opening up on his laptop. He sat with his back to the headrest, laptop on his legs as he got working on the report due tomorrow morning. 


	9. Anger Turns to Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman is angry and tries to get back at Logan.

 Roman glanced up through bangs to see Logan settle down on his bed. He hated how Logan could be so calm, as if he  _hadn’t_  just ruined his entire life. Roman was terrified, sad, but most of all he was just  _angry_. How dare Logan think he knew what was best for him. How dare Logan keep him trapped here on the false hope that he would ever be able to go free.

 In Roman’s mind, he was nothing more than a glorified  _pet_.

 Roman’s eyes wandered to the floor of the bedroom as he saw Logan set some papers down. An idea going off in his head, a way to get some anger out and annoy Logan in the process. And at this point, Roman didn’t care about the consequences.

 So he wiped his eyes and stood up, he paused for a moment, before walking over and picking up a pen, throwing it over the side. He then jumped down onto the chair and then climbing down to the floor, just like he had done before.

 Logan caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and looked over to see Roman hopping down. So, that’s how he did got down before. Curious, Logan paused his work to watch what Roman was doing with that pen. It was strange to watch him carry the instrument which was almost twice his height.

 Roman could feel Logan’s eyes on him. Good.

 Taking the pen with him, he walked over to the papers and quickly looked them over. There was a lot of writing on it, paragraphs upon paragraphs worth. Roman couldn’t even read all the words on the page. It seemed important, which was exactly what Roman had been hoping for.

 Before Logan had a chance to stop him, Roman took the pen and (despite it being heavy in his grip) managed to scribble all over the paper, blocking over as many words as possible with black ink.

 Logan knew that Roman was only acting out in anger, and that it was important for him to have such an outlet. Regardless, Logan wished the outlet didn’t have to be his physics notes. Now he’d have to print them out again, meaning he’d have to get up even earlier the following morning after what was shaping up to be a long night.

 “Okay.” Logan gave an irritated sigh, turning to his phone to set his alarm for the morning 20 minutes ahead. “Guess I’ll have to print those again.”

 Roman stopped when Logan simply brushed him off. Growling in frustration, he threw the pen down as best he could. There had to be something  _else_  that would get Logan riled up.

 Deep down Roman wasn’t sure why he wanted to do just that so badly. Since it could only mean bad things for him. But he was still just so  _angry_  and if he took even a moment to stop and think he knows his anger would morph into tears.

 Roman looked around but couldn’t see anything else he could mess with. Maybe he would have more options outside Logan’s room. He quickly jogged towards the door and looked at the little room there was underneath. It would be a tight fit, but Roman could make it fairly easily.

 He got down on his stomach and army crawled underneath the door.

 Logan looked over to see Roman halfway under the doorway. Logan honestly didn’t expect that to be a place the borrower could fit; unfortunately, that meant keeping an eye on Roman was going to be more difficult.

 Logan groaned, getting up and placing his computer back on the bed before heading towards the doorway.

 Roman could feel the vibrations and knew Logan was coming to get him. It was then that Roman realized the perfect way to annoy him. He ran for the couch, slipping underneath it before Logan could open the door.

 Logan couldn’t see Roman on the floor, and was only now cognizant of how many doorways there were in his apartment. Grabbing a spare towel, Logan quickly (and carefully) went over to the front door and blocked the only true exit. Then, he began to comb through the living room.

 “Roman.” Logan called out, crawling around on his hands and knees to look under the furniture. “We both know this is a waste of time. Stop acting childish.”

 “I am not!” Roman yelled. “Sorry, if you think trying to get away from my kidnapper is  _childish_!” Before Logan could pinpoint him, Roman ran the length of the couch and then underneath the nearby bookshelf.

 “Kidnapper…” Logan muttered to himself, scoffing. “So dramatic.” He checked under the couch, seeing nothing, and turned the other way towards the bookshelf.

 “I’ll admit, I’m a dramatic person, but I don’t think this quite counts as such!” Roman yelled, climbing the bookshelf from behind.

 “I gave you a  _choice_.” Logan reminded him, trying to reach his hand back between the bookshelf and the wall. “You  _chose_  to be here!”

 Roman just managed to dodge the wandering hand, not breaking in his steady climb up. “I wouldn’t call  _blackmail_  and simply remaining trapped here  _choices_!”

 “It’s not  _blackmail_ , it’s  _collateral_.” Logan repeated his own terminology. He reached again, this time trying to scoop up Roman from underneath as he pushed the bookshelf away from the wall. “And technically, you agreed that a come-and-go system would be best, so the collateral should be no issue for you.”

 Roman didn’t even get a chance to respond to Logan’s last statement as he felt his hold on the bookshelf slip as the structure was suddenly jerked forward. He suddenly found himself falling with a startled yelp.

 Logan quickly reached out to catch Roman’s falling form, heart skipping a beat as Roman fell until he landed with a thud in Logan’s palms.

 Roman let out a small ‘oof’ as he fell onto his back on what he could only assume was Logan’s cupped hands. His heart beat rapidly in his chest and his breaths were heavy. It hadn’t even been that much of a fall, it really shouldn’t have affected him this much.

 But Roman realized it wasn’t just the fall. It was everything. His anger was now gone and like he predicted, it was replaced with tears and just an overwhelming sense of  _fear_. Roman curled in on himself and let out a strangled sob.

 “...Roman?” Logan lifted the little guy higher, noticing his tears. “Are you in pain?”

 Roman didn’t have the strength to answer in anything other than more sobs.

 Logan could only assume that Roman had been injured from the fall. Without knowing exactly what was wrong, Logan could only do his best to not injure Roman further. So, with slow and careful movements, Logan stood and made his way back to his room. Looking around, Logan decided the most gentle place to set Roman for now was on his bed. He went to the end not covered in physics homework and carefully set the borrower down on the plush surface.

 “Do you need any ice?” Logan asked, trying to keep his voice calm while in his head he was quickly becoming more worried. “A heat pack? Does anything feel broken?”

 Roman shook his head, tears showing no signs of stopping. He took in a strangled breath, trying to speak.

 “Stop acting like-like-like you actually care!” Roman managed between sobs. His voice only barely understandable.

 “Hey, calm down.” Logan said softly. “I understand your frustration, but it’ll be best to save your breath. Take deep breaths, in and out.”

 Despite Roman’s current thoughts and feelings towards Logan, he listened. However, his breathing continued to come out at a rapid pace.

 Logan looked around for anything that could help, and got an idea. “Wait right here.” He said, leaving the room. A few moments later, he returned with a bottle cap of water that he was trying desperately not to spill as he walked.

 “Here.” Logan held it out for Roman. “Water will help replenish your body of everything it’s draining from your tears.”

 Roman took the water in shaky hands, doing his best to grip it where it wouldn’t spill. He greedily drunk it, the water clearing his throat and helping him to breath better. When all the water was gone, he set it down and started to try and take slow breaths. In and out, just like Logan said, just like  _he_  had said to Virgil multiple times in the past.

 It took a long while, but eventually the tears stopped and his breathing was normal.

 “Alright.” Logan was relieved to see Roman had calmed down. “Are you still in any pain? Do you need me to go get anything?”

 “No.” Roman simply said. Feeling drained from the panic attack he just went through.

 Logan nodded. “Good.” He got up slowly so as not to startle Roman, and grabbed the supplies he had went to retrieve earlier in the evening. Logan folded up the blanket in the box so that it functioned as a blanket, pillow, and mattress simultaneously. Or at least resembled a cozy nest that could be burrowed into for the night.

 Roman looked up at Logan and the box he was messing with with a raised eyebrow. “What is that for?”

 Logan looked over at him. “I figured this could serve as your bed for the night.”

 “Oh.” Roman took a closer look at the box in Logan’s hands. From where Roman was standing, at least, it looked rather large. Large enough that Roman would have no way out of the box. Not on his own. But that’s probably exactly what Logan wanted. To trap Roman  _even_   _more_. Roman sighed, but honestly? He was much too tired to care at the moment.

 Was this how Virgil felt after all of  _his_  attacks?

 “Okay.”

 “I figured it’d be best to get this ready.” Logan explained, surveying his handiwork. “I know that you’ve been through a lot, and even just expressing emotions as you just did tends to wear out an individual.” He paused. “Do you… feel better after-” Logan kind of gestured awkwardly in Roman’s direction, “-er,  _that_?” Logan had never been good with feelings, especially when they were not his own.

 Roman blinked before shrugging. “I don’t know...I just feel really tired right now.” It was half-true. He still didn’t feel better, not about this whole situation or anything like that. But he was, indeed, tired.

 Logan nodded. “That’s normal. If you want, you can go to bed now. I’ll just be finishing my paper before heading to bed as well.”

 “Yeah, that sounds good.” Roman stood up from where he was sitting. Wobbling a little on the uneven surface. He looked from Logan to the box, knowing there was only one way he was going to get in there. Not that he liked it.

 Logan, oblivious to Roman’s unease, moved the box over to the bed, lifting Roman and depositing him in the middle. Logan looked around the room for a suitable place for the makeshift habitat for the night, deciding that his desk would be best. Logan set the box there, then grabbed another towel from the hallway. Checking to confirm that Roman was still in the box (though Logan was fairly certain that Roman could not escape the tall walls), Logan then closed his bedroom door for the night and tucked the towel under the door to prevent any midnight escape attempts. With all this accomplished, Logan returned to his project to put on the final touches.

 Roman looked around what was now his new bed. Honestly, if he wasn’t trapped in this thing it would be the best bed he had ever had. As he moved the blanket over him he couldn’t help but run his hand over it, feeling how soft it was. Much different than the old cloths he had back at his place.

 He wrapped himself up and snuggled into the corner. As his eyes closed, he really hoped he would wake up to find this was all a dream. He fell into a dreamless sleep.

 Several hours later, Logan closed his laptop with a satisfied sigh. He began to gather up the papers on the floor, making a mental note again to print the new copies in the morning. As Logan set his neat pile of materials on the desk next to the box, Logan couldn’t help but look in and see Roman fast asleep. 

Logan quietly took up his journal from earlier and jotted down a few of his new thoughts on Roman. Logan found it particularly interesting that Roman had cried, as humans are the only known creatures to cry tears as a way of expressing feelings. Logan didn’t know what to make of it. The more he studied Roman, the more it felt less like science and more like human interaction. The thought was troubling, given Logan’s lack of expertise in people. 

Logan put away his notebook, getting himself ready for bed quietly. How could borrowers be so human in appearance and action? Based on evolution, Logan could find reason in finding a miniature humanoid sentient creature the size of a chimp. In fact, chimps themselves are quite intelligent. But it made no sense for a creature with a similar ancestor to homo-sapiens to evolve in such a way that it was merely a few inches tall. It seemed counter-productive to survival as a whole. Were there perhaps other traits found in borrowers that helped separate them from humanity and kept them alive at such a small stature? Or maybe borrowers were just the result of a genetic mutation gone wrong, possibly originating in a lab. But if that was the case, what creature’s DNA were fused within a borrower’s DNA? 

Thoughts like these plagued Logan’s mind as he turned off the lights and got into bed, finding it hard to sleep as his mind continued to race late into the night.


	10. Pocket full of Roman?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan drinks coffee, Roman eats breakfast, and the two discuss travel plans for the day.

Roman blinked his eyes open as light poured onto him. He groaned and snuggled deeper back into bed. But as he gained more consciousness, he realized things seemed wrong. There shouldn’t be any light in his home nor should his blankets be  _ this _ comfortable. Roman opened his eyes fully and sighed when he realized it hadn’t, in fact, all been a dream. That him getting caught and trapped by Logan, a  _ human _ , was as real as could be.

 

Roman rubbed a hand over his face and stood up, unfortunately, the walls of the box were much bigger than he was. And no amount of jumping was going to change that. And climbing was also out of the question, seeing as how the cardboard was much too smooth to even try, at least, not without his hook. Which happened to be back where he had gotten stuck in the glue trap.

 

Roman listened for any signs of movement, but all he could hear was the soft breathing of what he assumed to be Logan. Which meant the human was probably still asleep. Roman groaned, not feeling like staying in the box for more than he had to. So, he cupped his hands over his mouth.

 

“Logan! Wake up!” He shouted into the room, hoping Logan would hear him.

 

Logan murmured something incoherent in his sleep, rolling over.

 

However, a moment later a blaring alarm began to sound, originating from Logan’s nightstand.

 

Roman’s frown of not being heard soon turned to a mixture of surprise and fear at the sudden loud noise. He flung his hands to his ears, the loud beeping making his head hurt.

 

Logan groaned, throwing his arm over to stop his alarm. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to wake up despite not being a morning person by nature. His eyes fell on the box on the desk, and suddenly Logan was eager to be awake. 

 

“Good morning, Roman.” Logan greeted, coming over to see the borrower awake in the box. 

 

Roman craned his neck up to look at Logan, a shiver going down his spine when their eyes met. “Morning.”

 

 

Logan left to change and wash up in the bathroom, coming back a few minutes later looking refreshed. He grabbed Roman in a fist as usual, heading to the kitchen. “Coffee?”

 

 

Roman, even knowing it wouldn’t change anything, squirmed in the grip. “Um...What’s coffee?”

 

 

“It’s a drink that a lot of humans have in the morning as a way to get caffeine in their system and help wake up.” Logan explained, setting Roman on the counter before starting up the coffee pot. “Would you like to try some? Only a small dose, of course, as caffeine can be very addicting as well as powerful and neither of us know the effects it might have on a borrower.”

 

“Sure, sounds interesting.” Roman watched as the coffee pot started filling up, realizing then that he was also pretty hungry. He looked back up at Logan, but hesitated. He knew Logan said it was fine for him to ask for food and that (he claims, anyway) half the reason he was keeping him here was to feed him more. But Roman, after last night, felt averse to asking for anything. 

 

But he  _ was _ hungry, so he sucked it up. Ignoring all his current fears.

 

“W-Would it be okay to get something to eat as well?” Roman asked, mentally cursing himself for stuttering. He hated showing weakness, but he supposed that was out the window after last night. The thought made Roman deflate a little.

 

 

Logan raised an eyebrow as he caught Roman’s stutter. The more emotional sides to yesterday began to flood back into Logan’s tired brain as he remembered what happened.

 

“Of course, Roman.” Logan agreed, looking around for something that would be quick. He did have to leave for class soon, but considering Roman would most likely be waiting around in his bag all day the borrower would have plenty of time to eat breakfast. Logan, on the other hand, often skipped breakfast in favor of coffee.

 

“Here you are.” Logan said, opening a granola bar and setting it in front of Roman. The coffee machine beeped, and Logan poured himself a mug before using the bottle cap from last night to get a small amount for Roman as well.

 

“Careful, it’s hot.” Logan warned, a bit splashing on his fingers as he set it down next to the granola bar. He winced, washing off his hand with cold water.

 

 

Roman looked a the black drink with a raised eyebrow. He picked it up with only a little difficulty and (ignoring Logan’s warning) took a sip. Roman immediately noticed two things. One, the liquid that hit his tongue was incredibly  _ bitter _ . It tasted like dirt to the borrower and yes, Roman would know. The other sensation was his whole mouth suddenly felt like he had stuck it into a flame. It  _ burned _ .

 

“Ow!” Roman spit the coffee back out into the cap and fanned his mouth with his hand. That experience had not at all been pleasant. How did humans like that crap?

 

 

“That’s usually the first reaction to coffee.” Logan smirked, taking the cap and carefully pouring the little amount back into his own mug. He took a careful sip of his own.

 

 

Roman didn’t think twice when Logan took his cap to drink himself and instead went straight to the granola. He ate a bite of it, before looking back up at Logan.

 

“So...what’s the plan for today?”

 

 

“I have classes until 4:00.” Logan explained. “Calculus, then Chemistry, and finally Physics. There will be a bit of time between though to grab lunch on campus.”

 

 

Roman nodded. “Oh, so you’ll have time to bring some lunch back?” He asked, taking another bite of his breakfast. 

 

“Well, I don’t see why that would be necessary, seeing as you’ll be with me.” Logan pointed out.

 

Roman dropped his granola. “Wait, what?!” Roman knew Logan had taken him the day before, but that had been a quick trip. Not to mention,  _ no one had been there _ .

 

“You never told me that!”

 

 

“I didn’t think it was relevant to say.” Logan was surprised by Roman’s outburst.  “It seemed implied, given the pattern thus far.”

 

 

“But-But all those  _ humans _ ! There are going to be humans everywhere! Not sure about you, but I’m not the best in crowds. Especially when the crowd is full of  _ humans _ .” Roman said, trying to drive home his point of why he really didn’t want to go with Logan.

 

 

“Relax, you’re being dramatic again.” Logan took another sip of his coffee, leaning against the counter opposite Roman. “I’ll just put you in my computer bag like before and no one will be the wiser.”

 

 

Roman groaned. There was no way of talking Logan out of this, apparently, but that honestly shouldn’t have surprised Roman much. After all, he had spent all day yesterday trying to convince him to let him go and look how that turned out. But, maybe he could get in at least one win, no matter how little it really mattered to him.

 

“Can I at least not ride in your bag again? It’s not the most comfortable.” 

 

 

“Well I don’t see any other practical option.” Logan told him, having already thought through many alternatives to find the best solution. “But I’m open to suggestions.”

 

Roman thought for a moment, though none of the options he thought of were great alternatives. “I mean, the best option I can think of is letting me stay here?” Roman tried pathetically.

 

“I disagree.” Logan shook his head. “You’ll be terribly bored all day, if not anxious wondering what might happen on my end.” Logan took out his phone as a reminder of their deal. “Not to mention, I’d rather keep close tabs on you as I cannot guarantee the safety of my apartment while I’m away. And my studies are sure to suffer if my mind is preoccupied all day with your whereabouts.”

 

Roman felt his heart skip a beat when Logan took out his phone. Roman grit his teeth, but knew he couldn’t argue with Logan about staying anymore. 

 

“Fine. Whatever.” It’s not like Logan even actually  _ cared _ . He just wanted to make sure his ‘amazing discovery’ didn’t try to escape. 

 

He ignored those thoughts for now, focusing back on finding a better alternative to the bag. He looked on Logan’s person, eyes stopping at the small pocket on his chest.

 

“Um...Your pocket might work?” Roman pointed out. It still wasn’t going to be great, but it had to be a bit better than the bag anyway. At least he wouldn’t accidentally be picked up by someone else and discovered.

 

 

“You squirm too much for a pocket.” Logan countered. “You’d likely be discovered by others who want to investigate. Or if you somehow remain undiscovered, you would be a constant distraction to me all day.”

 

“I only squirm because I hate being grabbed.” Roman deadpanned. “Besides, at least if I’m in your pocket you’ll know where I am at  _ all _ times. And not have to worry about where the bag is or anything like that.” Roman said, playing into what he knew Logan cared about and hating himself for it. But he needed this one thing, just this one win. His psyche depended on it.

 

Logan considered this. On the one hand, he wanted to respect Roman’s ability to have influence over his own destiny in order to help Roman feel free and therefore keep his mental health in check. On the other hand, Logan knew that it would be better for Roman to be in the bag. There were far less risks. 

 

And, privately, Logan couldn’t help but think of the paranoia he would feel having Roman hidden on his person. Logan was already incredibly self-conscious of his every movement when Roman was only in the bag. 

 

“If I keep my bag on at all times, it provides the same security as being on my person.” Logan replied. “You would have almost the same proximity to me.”

 

 

“Yes, but I already told you the bag is uncomfortable.” Roman said through grit teeth. “Look, I know you always have to be the ‘logical decision maker’ here, but can I  _ please _ just have this  _ one _ thing.” It took a lot for Roman to use ‘logical decision maker’ over a few other things he was thinking. 

 

 

Logan took a long, slow sip of his coffee.

 

“...fine.” Logan agreed. “We can try it, but only for a little trial period. And if it’s not working out we’ll go back to the bag. Is that satisfactory to you?”

 

Roman sighed in relief. “Yeah, that works.” It wasn’t a  _ full _ win, but it was something. And right now Roman was taking all that he could get.

 

“So, when do we leave?” He looked down at the piece of granola for a moment, but found he was no longer hungry. So he ignored it.

 

 

Logan took a look at the clock before drinking the remains of his mug. “About now, actually.” He left to gather his school supplies from his bedroom, tucking them into folders and gathering the materials into a separate bag. Throwing this over one shoulder, he grabbed the empty computer bag as well and headed back into the kitchen. Steeling himself, Logan picked up Roman in  one hand and held his chest pocket open with the other, slowly and carefully placing Roman into the bottom. 

 

Roman dropped down into the pocket, squirming a little before forcing himself to stop. If he started squirming now, Logan might call off the whole thing and stick him in the bag anyway. The borrower laid out in the pocket, almost like it was a hammock. The pocket was  _ just _ big enough for Roman to fit in, if he wasn’t lying  _ all _ the way down that is.

 

There also appeared to be a steady rhythm coming from his right, Roman quickly realizing it was Logan’s heartbeat. It was almost...calming.

 

Roman snapped out of it and looked up. “Well, I was right about it being more comfortable than the bag!” Roman shouted up at Logan, not knowing if Logan would be able to hear him clearly from within the pocket.

 

“...why are you shouting?” Logan looked down at Roman in the pocket, the fabric edge folding in such a way that even Logan could only catch a glimpse.

 

Roman felt a blush spread across his face and he hit Logan in the chest. “Shut up.”

 

Logan was surprised to feel what he could only assume was Roman punching him given the context, although it felt more like a poke. 

 

Logan slowly began to move over to the front hall mirror, trying to lessen the feeling of Roman swaying and bumping into him with every step. Logan inspected his reflection, trying to see if Roman’s outline was immediately apparent. Though a watchful eye might notice something was amiss, it seemed that while Roman remained still his appearance was harder to spot than Logan had anticipated. 

 

“So, how is it so far?” Logan asked, still staring at his reflection.

 

“Like I said, pretty comfortable. It almost feels like a hammock.” Roman wasn’t going to mention the soothing sound he thought Logan’s heartbeat was. That might be a little weird.

 

Logan was displeased to find Roman enjoying this, as the feeling was certainly not mutual. With a sigh he straightened his bags to make sure the straps wouldn’t squish Roman, then he locked his door and began his descent down to his car. Logan found the feeling of Roman bouncing in his pocket unnerving as he took the stairs, and was torn between slowing down to ease his own mind or taking the stairs two at a time so that Roman would be uncomfortable and chose the bag instead.

 

Logan was almost to his car when he heard a familiar voice, and his blood ran cold.  _ How could he have forgotten? _

 


	11. HI PATTON

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look! It's Patton, finally!

“Logan!” Patton cried, running towards his friend. Without missing a beat he flung his arms around him in a hug.

 

Roman, on his end, had not been expecting a different booming voice. Not yet anyway and definitely not one who knew Logan’s name. Before anything more could be said or done, Roman felt himself get squished into Logan’s chest. Not too much that he was hurt, but it wasn’t the least bit comfortable.

 

Logan quickly grabbed Patton’s arms and pulled him off, worrying for Roman’s health. “Good morning, Patton.” Logan tried to greet his friend normally to save face, his heart still racing from the scare. All he wanted was to check on Roman, but he couldn’t do that with Patton around.

 

Patton frowned a bit when Logan pulled him off, but the smile soon returned. He had to remember that Logan didn’t like a ton of physical contact. “Morning Lo! You all ready for class?”

 

Roman sighed once the weight had left, but he was still tense as the new voice, apparently named Patton, continued to talk.

 

“Yes.” Logan opened his car door, getting into the driver’s seat while waiting for Patton to get in the passenger. With all the chaos of discovering Roman, Logan had forgotten that he and Patton carpooled to school in the mornings. It did make sense, considering they lived in the same complex.

 

 

Patton opened the door opposite of Logan, before suddenly standing up straight and patting himself down. He twisted around, trying to look at his back. “Oh shoot! I totally forgot my bag, I’ll be right back Lo!” And with that, Patton ran back inside the complex to grab his bag.

 

Wasting no time while Patton was gone, Logan reached into his pocket and gently pulled out Roman to inspect him for injuries. “Roman, are you alright?”

 

Roman yelped when fingers from above suddenly came down and grabbed him, having not expected it. He glanced outside, weary of when Patton was going to come back.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just slightly squished. It didn’t hurt though.” Roman answered. He tore his eyes away from outside and to Logan.

 

“So, do you just not like telling me _anything_ , because this sure would have been nice to know.”

 

 

“It slipped my mind.” Logan admitted, a bit irritated about admitting to being forgetful. “I was a bit distracted by….” He gestured to Roman. “...you. And I’m glad nothing came of this, but this is a perfect example of why my bag is safer than the pocket.”

 

 

“Yes, yes, I know I can be quite distracting.” Roman said, smirking slightly and running a hand through his hair. “But I don’t see how this proves your point, seeing as how I wasn’t hurt or any-” He was cut off by a now familiar voice.

 

“I got it!” Patton cried, making his way back over to the car.

 

 

Logan quickly put Roman back in his pocket, a bit peeved that he didn’t have enough time to switch over to the bag. “Are you _sure_ you’ve got everything?” Logan prompted as Patton got in the car. “Wallet? Phone? Bag? Paper due today?”

 

 

“Check, check, check, and double check! I’m all ready!” Patton answered, sliding into the passenger seat and buckling up. “Sorry about that by the way, I had sort of a late start this morning.” Patton giggled and set his bag down on the floor in front of him.

 

Roman actually thanked anyone who was listening that Patton had come back when he did, only because that meant not being put in Logan’s bag. He settled as quickly and stealthy as he could before sitting completely still. He busied himself with listening in on the humans. He hadn’t seen Patton yet, but he had a feeling the human was the same as the one on Logan’s lock screen.

 

 

“It’s fine.” Logan told Patton, although inside he was disappointed that Patton wasn’t going to leave him alone with Roman again. Instead he began the drive to campus, hoping it wasn’t evident how tense he was as he tried to conceal his nerves.

 

 

“Oh! By the way, did you end up checking the glue trap? Was there anything there?” Patton asked, curious if Logan had actually done what he had asked yesterday over the phone, since he hadn’t heard back.

 

 

Logan almost snorted. He hated lying to Patton as a rule, but he figured a little character lie would be necessary for Roman’s sake. “Patton, you know I told you that I’d text you as soon as I found anything so you could come help me set it free.”

 

“I know, I was just checking.” Patton said, smiling, though it soon turned to a small frown. “Although, I’m still not completely sure on those traps...maybe we should come up with something else? Something less...dangerous.” He didn’t want any small animals getting caught and dying because of him and Logan.

 

Roman actually snorted, quickly covering his mouth and hoping he hadn’t been heard. But, if only Patton had brought that up sooner. Roman wouldn’t be in this mess.

 

 

“Oh?” Logan prompted Patton to keep going, feeling slight movement in his pocket. “What did you have in mind?”

 

“Well, I was doing a bit of research and found this thing called a Tin Cat Humane Mouse Trap. Basically the mouse can go in, but it can’t get out. It has air holes and you can even leave food in there in case you forget to check it! It’s also cheap and can hold up to 30 mice.” Patton explained.

 

Roman raised an eyebrow at what Patton was talking about. If only Logan had used that instead. He wasn’t stupid enough to fall for something like that.

 

 

“Mhm.” Logan nodded, pretending to still be interested despite the fact that his ‘mouse’ problem had been solved.

 

 

Patton took out his phone, checking on something. “I actually already ordered it and it should be here by tomorrow.” Patton said, before putting his phone away. He looked out the window, watching as the world went by before suddenly remembering something.

 

“Oh, right, also I found this really great place we can eat at for lunch! It’s this cute little cafe just six miles away from campus, I think you’re going to love it!”

 

“Sounds great Patton.” Logan agreed, fine with whatever Patton chose. Besides, at this point in time Logan would agree to just about anything Patton said, instead focusing on trying to relax his body posture and not act suspicious.

 

 

Roman just barely stopped himself from groaning. Add that to the list of things Logan hadn’t told him. He needed to talk to Logan once they were alone and at least _try_ and convince him to not go to that cafe. It probably wouldn’t work, but Roman was never one to quit.

 

Patton frowned, furrowing his eyebrows as he stared at Logan. “Hey, Lo, are you okay? You seem a bit...distracted.” Patton asked, voice full of concern. It wasn’t like Logan to be this distracted with something, sure he could get this way when he had a test coming up, but this time seemed different. Not to mention, Logan didn’t have any tests coming up that Patton knew of.

 

Logan took a moment to find a good excuse. “It’s just my physics project. I was up all night finishing it and now I’m a bit disoriented.”

 

Patton sent Logan a disapproving glare. “Logan, you know that isn’t healthy.” Logan was definitely a prime example of ‘do as I say and not as I do’, Patton had come to learn. Despite all his talks about healthy habits, he didn’t seem to have a whole lot.

 

 

Logan smirked, wanting to shrug but also not wanting to jostle Roman. “It worked. Stereotypically ‘sleeping’ hours are often an untapped source of human productivity. But, yes, realistically 8-10 hours of sleep a night are ideal.”

 

 

Patton shook his head, sighing. “You really should follow your own advice Teach.” Patton said, using the nickname he had been using since discovering Logan wanted to become a teacher. All the way back in the fourth grade.

 

 

“Yes, that would be best.” Logan pulled into his spot at the University after what had felt like the longest drive to campus in his life. He parked and unlocked the doors. “Alright, I’ll see you later Patton.”

 

 

“Bye Lo! See ya at lunch!” Patton exclaimed as he jumped out of the car and started running to his first class.

 

 

Logan took a deep breath, staring at his car ceiling for a few long moments.

 

 

Roman waited, wanting to make sure that Patton was truly gone. When he heard nothing, not even Logan getting out of the car, he hit Logan in the chest. “Hey, what’s going on out there?”

 

 

Logan felt Roman getting antsy and pulled him out again. “Patton just left and I was going to see if you were alright before we proceed to class.”

 

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Roman answered, rolling his eyes. Honestly, why did Logan keep asking him? “But, I don’t think we should go to that cafe. It’s bad enough you dragged me to a college with thousands of humans walking around. I don’t need any more.”

 

“We’re not actually adding a human.” Logan pointed out. “Patton is already on campus, so he would be included in the thousands of humans.”

 

Roman gave him a deadpanned look. “...Either way. I would rather not go to the cafe.”

 

 

“Why?” Logan asked, a bit peeved Roman was being difficult, especially after getting his way with the pocket. “We’re going to get food somewhere, it might as well be that cafe. If your concern is me interacting face-to-face with another human being, you need to understand that’s going to be a regular occurence when we’re out in public. Not to mention, if your concern is safety I’ve warned you several times about the pocket and any discomfort or anxiety you feel originates solely from you.”

 

 

Roman groaned. “Ugh! Why do I keep thinking you’ll actually listen! Honestly, it’s just-and-ugh! Fine, whatever. Do whatever you want!”

 

 

“If you want me to listen, maybe stop behaving like a child.” Logan scolded.

 

 

“For the _last time_ , I am not behaving like a child. I’m behaving like a _person_ who was _kidnapped_ and wants to be _let go_. But, of course, you don’t see it that way do ya.” Roman replied, crossing his arms and huffing.

 

 

“Child.” Logan muttered to himself, opening his computer bag and putting Roman in it. He got out of his car, tempted to slam the door before he remembered it was his vehicle. Logan had had quite an overwhelming, irritating day already.

 

And it was only 8 in the morning.

 

 

Roman groaned when he was placed back in the dreaded computer bag. Somehow he knew he would end up here. And that basically voided his win. Great.

 

The bag swung like it had the first time they had come to the college. Like Logan was being less careful with how he was moving. Which meant he was irritated and Roman wasn’t going to have the most pleasant of rides.

 

Logan made his way into the classroom, greeting his professor with a turt “‘morning” before taking his usual seat at the very front, carefully setting his computer bag by his feet. He zipped the bag so that only a small opening was left at the top, not wanting Roman to suffocate but also trying to avoid any funny business this early in the morning as well as out in public.

 

Roman felt the bag being set down and then suddenly his light grew smaller as the zipper closed up even more. There was no chance for Roman to try and escape now, though not that he would want to. He could hear all the humans in the room, talking and laughing with one another. Booming voices from all around, telling him that there were many. Too many. There was no way Roman was going to try and escape, only to get caught or seen by another human. As much as he wanted to get away from Logan, he would much rather stay with a known threat than an unknown one.

 


	12. The Cafe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Logan is acting suspiciously at lunch, Patton can't help but wonder what's up.

\------------------------------

 

Logan left his calculus classroom, only to see Patton already waiting at his car for lunch. Logan let out an annoyed huff, since he had been hoping to evaluate Roman further. He had glanced in the bag to be sure Roman was still there, but he hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to Roman with all his classmates milling about.

 

“Patton.” Logan nodded in greeting, unlocking the car doors.

 

 

“Heya Logan! Ready for lunch?” Patton greeted as he got into the car. He set his bag down, mimicking himself from just a few hours prior and watched as Logan got into the driver’s seat. “Like I said, I’m sure you’re going to love it! It’s small, but has just about everything!” Patton was actually really excited about his choice for lunch. He had picked it especially with Logan in mind, knowing he didn’t like it when they ate at places that were busy.

 

Roman was once again glad that Patton already seemed to be outside, if only because that meant prolonging any interaction with Logan for a bit. Even if the class had been incredibly  _ boring _ .

 

 

“Excellent.” Logan affirmed as he began to navigate towards the address, although his heart was not in it. Already Logan couldn’t wait for this lunch to be over, especially because with the timing of his classes he would be pressed for time to find a moment to speak to Roman before the day was over.

 

 

Patton told Logan the directions, watching as they came across the last turn. He could see the building from here. “There it is! Isn’t it cute?” 

 

 

“It’s fairly visually appealing, yes.” Logan agreed after glancing at the building. He parked the car, putting his book bag of materials in the backseat while keeping the computer bag on his person.

 

 

Patton left his bag in the front seat, but then stared up curiously at Logan when he kept his computer bag on. “Aren’t you going to leave that one in the car too?” Patton asked, pointing at said bag.

 

 

Logan looked at him for a moment, panicked inside but stoic as ever outside. “No.” Before Patton could ask any further questions, Logan got out of the car and began quickly walking into the Cafe.

 

 

“O...kay?” Patton said, quickly following Logan inside. Logan really was acting strangely today. And he’s pretty sure it wasn’t because of his physics project/lack of sleep. 

 

They took a seat in a corner booth, waitress coming over and giving them both menus and taking down their drink order. She left and they were once again alone. Patton looked around and was glad to see there weren’t too many people. Perfect for Logan.

 

“So...What do you think?” Patton asked excitedly.

 

Roman shifted inside the bag, but was happy to hear almost nothing inside the cafe. He relaxed slightly.

 

 

Logan looked around, surveying his surroundings. “It’s nice.”

 

 

“So, what are you going to get. Because I think this is calling my name.” Patton said, pointing something out on the menu. He couldn’t pronounce the name, but it looked like something between a soup and burger.

 

Logan looked at Patton’s choice, deeming it acceptable if a tad odd and unnecessary. He looked at the menu, trying to find something that would be easy to get portions to share with Roman as well.

 

“I’ll just do a classic sandwich.” Logan decided, closing his menu.

 

 

“Oh, nice choice!” The waitress came back and they both put in their orders. They small talked for a few minutes before their food arrived. Excited, Patton dug right in.

 

 

“Slow down, Patton.” Logan reminded him before remembering who he was talking to- he was so used to Roman now that he forgot Patton was a grown human who could take care of himself. 

 

 

Patton, mouth full, looked up at Logan with a sheepish grin. “Sorry.” He mumbled, but continued eating exactly as he had been before.

 

Roman could smell the food from where he was and his stomach growled rather loud. Not knowing if it would get Logan’s attention, he hit his fist against the wall of the bag. 

 

 

If Logan hadn’t been thinking about the little borrower at that exact moment, he might have missed the gentle tap through the thick fabric of his bag at his side. Logan carefully laid his computer bag on the table, trying to look inconspicuous. He began cutting his sandwich up with a knife and fork.

 

Patton noticed Logan cutting his food up, into rather tiny pieces at that, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, taking a drink of his water, trying to look like he wasn’t watching Logan intently. He was still trying to figure out what was wrong with him after all.

 

Roman felt the bag move, before being set down in a new position. Which probably meant he had been noticed. Roman pushed himself into the corner, just in case, but waited somewhat patiently for some food.

 

Roman deflated a bit. Ugh, he sounded like some pet.

 

That wasn’t at all encouraging.

 

Logan made a pile of a few pieces for Roman later, waiting for a moment to slip him his food. In the meantime he focused on his own portion of the sandwich. 

 

 

Patton raised an eyebrow at the tiny pieces Logan pushed aside, which was very unlike Logan. Considering he did not like to waste food and it didn’t seem like he was going to be eating it. 

 

“Logan? Is something wrong?” Patton asked, tilting his head, looking like a small puppy.

 

Logan looked at his plate, then his bag. “I don’t know what you mean.” Logan replied, realizing how suspicious his behaviour had been but trying to play it off.

 

“You’ve just sort of been...off, all day. And don’t try to tell me it’s because you didn’t get any sleep last night. I know how you act when that’s the case and it isn’t like this.” Patton’s tone turned more gentle. “Lo, I’m your best friend. You know you can tell me anything.”

 

Roman, at hearing those words, tensed. He really hoped Logan wouldn’t actually tell Patton about him. He couldn’t handle  _ another _ human looking down on him.

 

 

Logan quietly chewed his sandwich for a moment before swallowing. It hurt him to deliberately shove Patton out of this part of his life, but he couldn’t go showing Roman to other humans.

 

Not even Patton.

 

“Well, clearly you don’t know me as well as you think.” Logan couldn’t meet Patton’s eye. “It’s just sleep deprivation, nothing more.”

 

 

Patton actually flinched, eyes going wide at Logan’s very unexpected words. He shifted in his seat, but met Logan’s eyes again. Holding his ground. “I really don’t think it is. And I’m just worried about you.” Patton’s eyes fell onto the table and unintentionally on Logan’s bag. Looking at it like this...it didn’t look like Logan’s computer was in it.

 

“Does it...Does it have something to do with this?” Patton asked, reaching an arm over the table, intent on grabbing the bag.

 

 

“Don’t touch that!” Logan quickly pulled the bag off the table, holding it close to his chest. 

 

 

Patton’s arm flew back, as if it had been burned. His shoulders bunched at Logan’s yell and he could feel the stares of the few people in the cafe. He felt tears in the corners of his eyes, but refused to let them fall.

 

“L-Logan…” 

 

Roman was suddenly thrown onto his back as the bag moved fast and unexpectedly. He couldn’t see what was happening, but based on context clues he could only assume Patton had tried reaching for the bag. 

 

 

Logan put his computer bag strap over his shoulder once more.  “I think it’d be best if you walk home from here.” Logan suggested, gathering up the little pieces of sandwich as well as the rest in his hand. 

 

 

“W-What? But, But Logan-!” Patton forced himself to stop talking and instead rubbed at his eyes. Why was Logan acting like this?

 

Roman winced at Logan’s harsh tone, even knowing it was to protect him, he couldn’t help but feel bad for the other human. He would be  _ terrified  _ if he was on the receiving end of Logan’s current tone.

 

Logan pulled out his wallet from his back pocket, putting some cash on the table to pay for his food. He stood up. “I think some time apart would be best for a while. Besides, we’re already closer to the Apartment complex than campus and your classes are done for the day. You’re welcome.” With that, he spun on his heel and left.

 

Patton stared after Logan with a mixture of shock and sadness. Logan could be rude and even a little mean sometimes, but it was never like this. But...Patton couldn’t fully blame Logan. He was obviously going through  _ something _ , something that was making him act like this. And since Patton wasn’t sure what it was, he could neither blame nor judge Logan because of it. At least not fully. It didn’t mean that what Logan said hadn’t hurt. 

 

As Patton paid for his food and started on his walk, he decided that he would check on Logan tomorrow. They both had the day off from classes and maybe by that time Logan would have calmed down.

 

Sighing, Patton hugged himself and walked home.

 

Logan returned to his car, where he  finished off his food quickly, setting Roman’s portion in the bag. As soon as he was finished he drove back to campus, sitting in his parking space. Logan rubbed his face with his hands as he sat in his car. That probably couldn’t have gone much worse. 

 

Roman ate a few bites of the sandwich, but saved the rest knowing Logan still had a full day of classes left. He moved towards the zipper, but couldn’t get out, seeing as how Logan had zipped it right back up as soon as he had dropped the food off.

 

“Logan?” Roman called out.

 

Logan unzipped the bag and pulled Roman out. He inspected Roman closely. “I’m glad to see you’re unharmed after all that.”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine, but uh…” Roman paused, wondering if it was really his place to say. But then figured screw it. “I’m not sure your friend is.” Roman winced just thinking about how Logan yelled at Patton.

 

Logan’s eyes looked at something on the ground, unfocused as he was lost in thought for a moment. “Patton will… hopefully, be fine.” He sighed. “I suppose this strain on our relationship is just an unforeseen consequence of everything that’s happening.”

 

Roman hummed, not quite sure if he agreed with that. “Well...at the very least, thanks for not, ya know...telling him about me.” Roman really thought he would, for a second there anyway.

 

Logan nodded. “I understand how important it is to your kind. And while I may trust Patton as my best friend, he’s not always the best secret keeper.”

 

Roman raised an eyebrow at that, remembering the…’collateral’ Logan had planned on using. He hadn’t seemed so understanding then. Perfectly willing to send off a picture of him to several humans if he failed to show back up.

 

“Right…”

 

Logan cleared his throat. “Well in any case, I have to get to class again soon.” Logan shifted into productivity mode, as he always did when faced with feelings he wished to avoid.  

 

Roman sighed. “I suppose that means back in the bag I go?” 

 

Logan gave him what was almost a small smile. “You would be correct.” He set Roman back into the bag, re-adjusting his zipper before heading out into the building.

 


	13. A wild Virgil appears!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil is out investigating Roman's disappearance when a certain human arrives home far too early.

 Virgil listened to his surroundings, eerily quiet without the sound of humans bustling above him. At this time of day, most humans were out of the house for a few hours for class. But even with this explanation, the borrower found it to be  _too_  quiet. After a few minutes, Virgil realized what was wrong. Shouldn’t Roman have visited by now? He hadn’t come yesterday, either. Had there ever been a day before when Roman didn’t stop by at least once?

 Virgil debated between waiting a little longer for Roman to show up, or just venturing out on his own. What was taking Roman so long? Was he mad at Virgil? Virgil replayed their last interaction in his head. Had he done something wrong?

 What if Roman had gotten hurt? Or sick? Virgil suddenly clutched his hook to his chest in fear. What if Roman had been  _seen_?

 Virgil took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his thoughts down, but the anxious feeling wouldn’t leave. He knew in his gut that something was wrong. But he couldn’t just sit here worrying if Roman was truly in trouble. What would Roman do? Virgil stuck out his chest, trying to imitate his brave friend yet only ending up feeling foolish.

 “He could be fine.” Virgil reasoned to himself, his heart not in it. But first thing’s first, he would have to check Roman’s home just to be sure. The fastest way to Roman’s was crossing the second floor apartment, open territory. It was usually dangerous, but at this time of day it would be empty.

 Gathering his supplies and a med kit for safety, Virgil began creeping through the tunnels, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. The walls seemed even more enclosing than ever before. He reached the hole into the apartment’s living room, the bright light giving a stark contrast to Virgil’s mood. He made the trek out into the open space, practically sprinting due to his nerves. Virgil made it all the way to underneath the coffee table when a certain sound froze him in his tracks: the front door opening.

 Patton unlocked the door, thoughts still running about what had happened with Logan. He sighed as he set his bag down on the floor next to the door and walked all the way in. Having ten minutes all by himself to not think about anything else except what had just happened did nothing but have Logan’s words hurt him even more.

 Patton shook his head and pushed his glasses up to rub at his eyes. He needed something to distract him.

 Patton scanned the room, eyes passing over the coffee table before immediately going back. His eyes widened at what he saw, underneath said coffee table. So small, he almost missed it. It…It looked like a…tiny person?

_Oh no._

 Virgil’s eyes met those of the human’s, and he couldn’t figure out if his heart was beating a million beats a second or if it had just stopped altogether. His mind was screaming at him to  _run, you idiot! Run oh god human oh run get out run_ \- but his legs wouldn’t work. He was paralyzed in fear.

 Patton blinked and rubbed at his eyes again, but the tiny person didn’t disappear. It was real. There was really a tiny person standing under his coffee table in his apartment. And though it was hard to see the face clearly from where he stood, it wasn’t hard to tell that the little guy was pretty scared.

 “Hey.” He spoke gently. “It’s okay, it’s okay I’m not going to hurt you.” Patton took a careful step forward, hands up to show he meant no harm.

 Virgil took several quick steps backwards, stumbling onto his back as the human moved forwards. He jumped back onto his feet, putting the coffee table leg in between him and the human as if it would offer him any protection.

 Patton bit his lip, before slowly getting down onto his stomach and pushing himself underneath the table. He was halfway under and could just barely see the black poncho like fabric that the little guy was wearing poking out from behind the leg of the table.

 “You don’t have to be scared, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” He repeated, wanting to drive home that point.

 Virgil quickly turned on his heel, hating the feeling of having his back turned to the human as he began to dash as fast as his legs could carry him back to his hole. Why did he do the stupid choice and go out in the open?? He should’ve just stuck to the safety of the walls and took the long way around.

 Patton’s eyes widened even more when he saw the little guy take off and, without really thinking, reached his hand out and grabbed him mid-run.

 Virgil let out a strangled cry of pain as his ankle was caught at a weird angle between the human’s fingers.  _The human’s fingers. Oh god oh god oh god_ -

 Patton, weary of the tiny person he held in his hand (which, wasn’t  _that_  one heck of a sentence), slowly crawled out from the coffee table and stood back up. Not taking his eyes off the little guy, he carefully backed into the couch, taking a seat.

 “Whoa…” Patton could swear there were stars in his eyes as he stared down at the little guy. This tiny person was just so…so…

 “You are  _so cute_!” Patton silently exclaimed and brought the little guy just a little closer to his face to see him better.

 Virgil winced at the human’s words. He struggled away from the human’s face, trying vainly to escape or at the very least put some distance between them. His own face contorted in pain, feeling an unnatural amount of pressure on his sides and a searing sensation travelling up his leg. Many nights Virgil had been plagued with nightmares about being caught by humans, and yet the feeling was still worse than he imagined.

 Patton took in the tiny person’s facial features, frowning when it seemed contorted in…pain. Patton’s eyes widened once he realized how  _tight_  his grip actually was. Oh gosh, had he hurt the little guy? He hadn’t meant to! He opened up his hand, letting the tiny person rest in his palm.

 “A-Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to squeeze you so tight!” Patton brought his free hand over, gently touching his shoulder.

 Virgil took a huge gasp of air, still finding it hard to breathe despite the physical weight being gone. His anxiety made it difficult for his lungs to expand as Virgil tucked his knees into his chest. He wanted to put his hands down to steady himself, but Virgil refused to touch the human any more than absolutely necessary. Instead he began to slowly rub at his ankle, trying to get the throbbing to stop as he looked up at the giant being wearily.

 Patton noticed the little guy start rubbing at his ankle, and the guilt he had already started feeling skyrocketed. That had to have been his fault, considering he had been running just fine before Patton had grabbed him. Tears welled up in his eyes.

 “Oh kiddo…I didn’t-I’m…Y-Your ankle…” Patton stuttered out, and brought a finger to touch it gently, trying to see if he could tell how bad it was.

 Virgil gave an involuntary yelp, pulling his leg closer to himself.

 “Ahh! Sorry, sorry!” Patton said, pulling his hand back. Oh gosh, he had  _no idea_ what to do! He didn’t even know how to handle a hurt ankle on a normal human! How was he supposed to help this little guy?

 Patton stood up, careful not to jostle his tiny passenger. He looked around helplessly, hoping something would pop out at him that would tell him what he needed to do. He…He  _could_  try calling Logan, but they were fighting. And Logan had said himself they needed some time apart. Not to mention, as Patton quickly glanced at the time, he was in the middle of class. Even if they weren’t fighting, he wouldn’t answer.

 Patton took a deep breath and thought. Okay, first things first he would probably need a med kit. Which was…in the bathroom! Patton practically ran there, before carefully setting the tiny kiddo onto the counter. He then checked under the sink to try and find the med kit.

 Virgil was shocked to find he was set down, if only for a moment. He looked around the room, not coming here often. Where was the hole? Was there a hole? Virgil was having trouble focusing as he felt the surface beneath him vibrating as the human went through the contents of the cabinet below.

 Cabinet! Virgil glanced at the cabinet on the wall above the toilet, groaning in his mind as he suddenly remembered how high up his escape route was- he didn’t have enough time. Instead, he’d have to hide. Looking around, Virgil limped over to the tissue box. He tried to hoist himself over the edge, ankle screaming at him in pain the entire time. With one final push with his good leg, Virgil tumbled over the edge and into the box.

 “Found it!” Patton exclaimed, standing back up with the med kit in hand. “Now let’s get you patched-Kiddo?” Patton blinked in confusion when he saw that the counter was empty. His confusion, however, was quickly replaced by panic. He set the med kit down near the edge.

 “K-Kiddo? Where’d you go?” He couldn’t have gotten far, Patton had only taken his eyes off of him for a second. He scanned the counter, lifting up a bottle of soap only to find nothing.

 “Kiddo, please. I know you’re scared, but I just want to help!” Patton tried, continuing to search every inch of the counter.

 Virgil crouched further into the dark corner, the thin cardboard wall bending slightly with his weight. He looked up at the opening with unease, watching the light disappear as the human’s shadow fell over it.

 Patton looked over at the tissue box, the last place he had yet to look. Frowning, he reached over and picked it up. There was no one behind the box, but there was a strange weight to the box. A weight that was much too heavy to be a simple tissue. Patton lowered the box and looked inside, finally seeing the kiddo, curled up.

 “Oh, kiddo…” Patton felt terrible, knowing the kiddo was trying to hide from him.

 Virgil pulled the fabric of his poncho up to cover his face and block out his surroundings as the world around him suddenly began to lift and tilt. He heard the voice of the human above him and tucked into an even tighter ball, trying to ignore how unusually cruel reality was being to him today.

 _Why me_. Virgil thought to himself, letting out a groan.

 Patton winced before slowly reaching a hand inside the box. “I’m sorry about this kiddo.” He said as he wrapped his fingers around the little guy. He made sure he wasn’t holding on too tight and took him out of the box. He then very quickly set him back down on the counter. Knowing the poor kiddo probably didn’t want a ton of contact right now.

 Virgil winced when he felt the familiar, unwelcome pressure around his body and waited for it to increase, slowly squeezing the life out of him…

 But that didn’t happen. Instead, Virgil felt his stomach drop for a moment before being set back down on the counter. Virgil looked up at the human with worry, wondering if the human was angry at him for hiding. Would his death be more painful now that he tried to escape?

 Patton noticed the worry etched on that impossibly small face and gave him a gentle smile. “It’s okay. I’m sorry about before, I really didn’t mean to hurt you.” He was repeating himself, but he would as many times as it took to calm the small kiddo down. Wait…could he even understand him? Patton frowned at that thought as he opened up the med kit, taking out some salve and gauze. Those should work for this, right?

 “Will you allow me to help fix your ankle?” Patton asked, hoping the small being could in fact understand him.

 Virgil looked back and forth between his leg and the human, panicking. He shook his head frantically, holding his leg protectively as if he could stop the human from doing anything. He was too weak to get a say. Besides, how could the human possibly help? His huge, clumsy fingers were what injured Virgil in the first place.

 Patton was happy to see that the tiny guy  _could_  understand him, if the shaking of his head was anything to go by. But was a little sad that the little guy didn’t want him to help. He was obviously in pain, but was so scared that he chose that over help. Patton thought for a moment before an idea struck him.

 “Alright, then how about I get the supplies ready for you and you can wrap it up yourself? I won’t go anywhere near your leg. Promise.” Patton suggested, keeping on that gentle and patient smile.

 Virgil frowned, looking up at the strange human. Was this some sort of trick? It had to be a trick. Humans were worse than monsters. But if Virgil knew it was a trick, maybe he could still get something out of it that could help him escape alive- he’d just have to be on his toes. Virgil tried not to get too attached to the thought of escaping, in fact he was surprised that he was still alive. Was this one of those humans who would rather draw it out and torture you for a long time?

 No, Virgil had to try and keep his fearful thoughts at bay. The present was already ominous enough without Virgil’s mind skipping ahead.

 So, in answer to the human’s question, Virgil gave a small nod and hoped he was making a safe choice.


	14. Wherefore art thou, Roman-o?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Would a human bean really let a borrower go?

 

Patton’s eyes lit up at the barely noticable nod. “Awesome!” He was happy that the little guy would at least get fixed up. Even if he wasn’t the one doing it, it didn’t really matter.

 

Patton squirted a bit of the salve out and set it down and then took the gauze and, with some scissor he pulled out of the med kit, cut it into pieces he thought small enough to wrap around the kiddo’s leg. He then set the strips down next to the salve and took a step back.

“So you’re gonna wanna rub that cream on your leg first, make sure you rub it all the way in, and then wrap you leg up in layers with the strips next to it.” Patton explained, pointing each thing out. He...assumed that was what he was supposed to do. It sounded right at any rate.

 

Virgil watched the human with a wary eye for a few moments, but when it looked like the human wasn’t going anywhere, he scooted closer to the supplies. First he took off his boot, examining his Ankle. It was already beginning to color with bruises, and was at least sprained. Virgil took a small amount of the cream and began rubbing it on, relieved to feel a cooling sensation on his leg. Then Virgil grabbed the slightly large strips and began to wrap up his lower leg, doubling over to use all the material. He rushed near the end, feeling uneasy about how much attention he was devoting to his leg when he should be keeping tabs on the human watching him like a hawk.

 

Satisfied enough with his work, Virgil slipped his boot back on. He felt very vulnerable sitting there while the human towered over him, so Virgil stood up. He winced as he put pressure on his bad leg, leaning so that he could favor his better side.

 

 

Patton smiled the whole time, simply watching the tiny actions in amazement. He hadn’t had a whole lot of time to process what exactly he had found, but while the little guy was fixing himself up, he let his thoughts wander. A real life tiny person was sitting on his bathroom counter. He had  _ held _ said tiny person, felt the kiddo’s breathing, pushing home just how  _ real _ he was. 

 

Patton had to wonder where he had come from. Was he lost? Did he have a family? Was he born like that or was he shrunk? He could understand him, but could he talk back? So many questions, but Patton didn’t dare ask them, for fear of scaring the little guy even more.

 

He watched as the kiddo finished up and stood. “Does it feel better?” Patton asked, wondering if his remedy had worked.

 

Virgil wondered what was the correct answer. If he said that he felt better, did that just mean he was ready for more pain? If he said that he didn’t feel better, would that mean the human was merely trying to gauge his pain tolerance levels for any trials to come? 

 

Virgil took the middle ground and gave a half-hearted shrug.

 

Patton hummed. “Well, hopefully it will feel better soon.” Now what was he supposed to do? He didn’t feel right in just grabbing the poor kiddo anymore, so that was out. Maybe...he could start simple.

 

“I’m Patton by the way. Sorry our meeting was...um, not great.” He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He definitely had to find some way to make it up to him. 

 

 

Virgil nodded in acknowledgement, not trusting himself to speak. Besides, the borrower code was very explicit about how borrowers should not speak to humans. Humans were manipulative by nature and could make you spill weaknesses you didn’t even know you had. (Although Virgil already knew of many, many weaknesses he personally possessed.)

 

But this human didn’t  _ seem _ manipulative, and that was even more dangerous. Virgil was sure the human was trying to lull him into a sense of ease before- well, before whatever number of horrible things humans were known to do to borrowers. Virgil knew of several such accounts, some of which had been told to him by Roman, and his imagination was quick to supply more. The thought of these alone made Virgil take a few pained, limping steps backwards, wanting to get some more distance to pretend he was safe. 

 

 

Patton bit his lip and stopped himself from reaching out toward the little guy. That would only make things worse. But, they also couldn’t stay in the bathroom forever. Patton’s eyes scanned over the counter and he got an idea.

 

“Okay kiddo, I know you don’t want me to touch you, so I won’t. But we also can’t stay in the bathroom forever, so…” Patton brought the tissue box forward. “How about we use this as a sort of transport?”

 

 

Virgil looked at the box, once again wondering what was the right answer and this time not seeing a middle ground. He didn’t want to be picked up in the human’s fingers again, but he also didn’t want to be trapped in a box and not see what was going on. As frightening as it was, Virgil knew it would be best to watch what the human did next. 

 

Was the box safer though because Virgil brought attention to it? Or was that the human’s plan all along?

 

And once he got in, where would the human take him? Virgil didn’t want to be taken anywhere, he wanted to go home. 

 

Virgil shook his head no.

 

 

Patton frowned, but quickly put back on his smile. “That’s okay, we don’t have to use the box. How about, um…” Patton looked around the bathroom but couldn’t find anything. “Um...Okay, I’ll be right back!” Patton ran out of the bathroom, quickly looking through his home for something to use that the kiddo would like. He didn’t think twice about him trying to escape, not with his hurt ankle and the fact that he was so small.

 

 

Virgil was surprised to be left alone. Was this some kind of trap or was the human just stupid? Either way, this might be his only chance. Virgil gritted his teeth and made his way over to the edge of the counter, throwing his hook towards the edge of the medicine cabinet up above. After he felt it latch on, he began to climb faster than he had ever climbed in his life.  _ Hurry up, go faster he’ll be back any second- _

 

 

Patton looked all over, but couldn’t find anything that would be as comfortable as the tissue box. He walked back into the bathroom. “Hey kiddo, are you sure you don’t want to use the tissue-Kiddo!” Patton’s eyes immediately went to the little guy, who was currently climbing up from the counter on some kind of hook and string thing. 

 

Once again, Patton wasn’t thinking when he practically threw himself toward the little guy and cupped his hands underneath the kiddo. 

 

 

Virgil let out a startled noise and adrenaline drove him to shoot further up the rope, away from the hands beneath him. Virgil dared to carry a smidgen of hope. He was  _ so close _ to the edge-!

 

 

Patton bit his lip hard, hesitating slightly before muttering a sorry and closing his hands around him. 

 

Virgil froze as the hands surrounded him, killing his hope instantly as he saw the light disappear. His hands dropped the rope in fear, watching it swing away as if to mock him. 

 

Patton brought his hands closer to his chest. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He said as he exited the bathroom and made his way toward the kitchen. He looked from the counter to his kitchen table, before taking a seat at said table and letting his hands open carefully. Letting the little guy out.

 

 

V irgil groaned, rubbing at his face. He had been  _ so. Close. _ Why did the human have to taunt him? Why did the  _ universe  _ have to taunt him? Why couldn’t he have just stayed in bed?

 

 

“Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you did I?” Patton didn’t know what he would do if he had hurt him  _ again _ .

 

Virgil shook his head before remembering who was talking to him. Virgil glared up at the human,  _ Patton. _ Why did he have to get stuck with a fake, cheery human? Why couldn’t he have just died at the hands of a regular, monstrous human? This deception was much more emotionally draining.

 

 

Patton flinched back at the glare and bunched up his shoulders. He felt... _ really  _ bad all of a sudden. “I’m-I’m sorry.” Patton apologized, even if he really didn’t know what he was apologizing for at this point. 

 

“I’m, ugh, I’m messing this whole thing up aren’t I? First I hurt you and then I grabbed you without permission…” Patton’s eyes widened at a sudden realization. He looked the little guy in the eyes. “You were trying to escape, weren’t you?”

 

 

Virgil’s eyes widened. Yes of course he was, why was that surprising? Was this another trick? If so, why did Virgil feel bad about the truth? Deciding to be honest, Virgil nodded.

 

 

Patton felt his mouth go dry at the realization. “Of course you were, you probably have your own home already. Your own  _ family _ . And here I am, a big  _ dumb  _ giant taking you away from all of that.” Patton rubbed at his eyes, tears from earlier that day coming back.

 

 

Now Virgil felt awful, watching Patton get upset. Either Patton was really good at acting, or his feelings were genuine. But nothing in the borrower code taught you about how to comfort a human, or anything about kind humans at all. Was there such thing as a kind human? He started to shift uncomfortably from foot to foot until that made his leg flare up again and he winced.

 

 

Patton shook his head, angry at himself, and knew what he had to do. “I’ll be right back.” He stood up and ran to the bathroom, grabbing the hook and string before coming back to the kitchen. The little guy was still there which made Patton sigh with relief. He set the hook down on the table a few inches away from him.

 

“Here. I’ll, um, I’ll go and you can use that to get back home okay? Just please be careful, your ankle is still hurt and I wouldn’t want you to hurt it more.”

 

 

Virgil just blinked. This  _ had _ to be a trick. He had never heard of a borrower being let go by a human. There was a odd one or two that claimed to have escaped, but most stories ended in gruesome deaths. 

 

 

“I’ll just...go now.” Patton started backing away. “It...It was nice meeting you kiddo. Um...Bye.” And with that Patton went into his room and closed the door.

 

Virgil waited a moment for the human to come back again, just like in the bathroom. He slowly picked up his hook, almost surprised that it was actually there and not just a figment of his imagination. Was he dreaming? He must be dreaming.

 

But the pain felt too real for this to be a dream, as Virgil’s leg reminded him when he began to walk to the edge. He had to try and escape while the human was gone. Was this even escaping anymore? 

 

Virgil stuck his hook on the edge of the table and slid to the floor, mind still racing to process what had happened. He kept waiting for Patton to appear around the corner and stop him again. Virgil might be alone, but he didn’t feel safe. 

 

Virgil pondered what to do next as he gathered up his rope. Should he go home? But Roman could still be in danger. But would the human come back and find him just outside Roman’s house? Putting Roman in danger if he wasn’t already?

 

No, Virgil couldn’t base his next move on what the human would do, because humans are unpredictable. This, at least, held true for Patton. Virgil began limping into the living room quickly towards the hole that led to Roman’s home. Did Roman get caught by Patton as well? Was he let go, too? The thought was far too optimistic for Virgil to believe. His gut feeling that Roman was in trouble had only been strengthened by his strange encounter with Patton.

 

Only once he was in the relative safety of the walls did Virgil allow himself to take a proper break. He gasped, sliding down on the wall and letting his leg rest. Honestly, when he looked at it he was surprised to see it wasn’t currently up in flames by the feeling it was giving off.  

 

This was never going to work if he kept this up, he’d only make his injury worse. Looking around, Virgil found that a board was beginning to splinter. Pulling out his razorblade, Virgil cut off a splinter and attempted to make a sort of crutch. It was a bit sharp, but it felt better than just walking on his leg. 

 

He made the long trek to Roman’s home, the feeling of dread increasing as the physical distance decreased. As he stood outside Roman’s door, he heard no singing or loud monologuing. That wasn’t a good sign.

 

“Princey, I’m home.” Virgil announced jokingly as he opened the door, praying that Roman was just asleep. Everything looked untouched. Virgil made his way to the bedroom, unsurprised but still anxious to not see Roman taking a nap in the middle of the afternoon. 

 

_ Then where was Roman?  _ Virgil looked around at the room, hoping for a clue. Clearly he wasn’t home, and Virgil hadn’t spotted anything odd on the way between their homes… well, except for a giant human who was home at the wrong time. 

 

Then Virgil remembered something that made his blood run cold. Last he saw Roman, Roman had been complaining about how one of the apartments where he usually took food had taken to putting out  _ mouse traps. _ What if Roman was caught in one of those horrible machines? What if he had been there all this time? What if he was in great pain? What if he was already-

 

Virgil began quickly limping to the borrower elevator. He sat down and used his upper body strength to operate the pulley and send him flying up to the fifth floor. Virgil took the passageways through the walls towards the kitchen.

 

Virgil looked into the kitchen through the hole on the counter. It seemed to be blocked by a giant metal wall, but there was the tiniest gap between the toaster and the wall that Virgil could just squeeze through. Could Roman have done that? Probably not, since Virgil was always the skinnier one. But then was Roman trapped somewhere out here? Had Roman been borrowing and then the toaster blocked his only way home?

 

“...Roman?” Virgil asked quietly after checking to see the human wasn’t around. Hearing no answer, Virgil attached his hook to the edge and grappled down, deciding to continue his search on the ground. Virgil was checking underneath and around Roman’s favorite snack cabinet when something glinting caught his eye. Walking over to investigate, Virgil’s heart skipped a beat when he recognized it as Roman’s hook. 

 

“ROMAN!” Virgil called out, louder this time, but again there was no response. Virgil picked up the hook, examining it as if it would give him some answers. Every borrower knew a hook was their best tool; a borrower without a hook was doomed. Roman wouldn’t have purposefully left this laying out in the open. 

 

Virgil began to hyperventilate. Virgil’s mind jumped to what was unfortunately what was looking to be the most likely scenario: Roman had been  _ seen _ .

 

 

Patton waited in his room for an hour, silently crying to himself before finally leaving his room. He checked the kitchen immediately and wasn’t surprised to see that the tiny person was no longer there. Patton sighed, but he knew that had been for the best. He didn’t want to keep the kiddo from living his own life, after all. 

 

He rubbed at his eyes. Today had not been a good day. First Logan and him were fighting and now he messed things up with a tiny person. He needed something to distract him. Patton’s eyes wandered over to the fridge and he opened it. He looked inside and smiled when he found that he had the ingredients to make some cookies. His special ones that he made from scratch. That was sure to distract him from the mess that had been today.

 

Patton took out the ingredients and bowls and got to work.


	15. Never gonna let you down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil returns to seek Patton's help. Meanwhile, Logan finds out Roman can write. And sing.

It had taken a while for Virgil to make his way back into the walls of Patton’s apartment on his bad leg, even with the help of his crutch. It took even longer to get up to the hole in the kitchen cabinets when Virgil found Patton in the kitchen. Now Virgil was cradling both hooks in his hands, crutch laying abandoned to the side, trying to figure out what to do. The borrower rules had failed him. This was crazy! No borrower in their right mind would go  _back_  to a human. So why was he here?

 Virgil sighed, attaching the hooks to his sides as he approached the cabinet door. Could he really  _willingly_  reveal himself to a human? Being seen was an entirely different story; he didn’t have a choice then. But Roman was in trouble, shouldn’t he be doing everything he could to help Roman? And Patton, for some reason, didn’t seem like a completely terrible person. Did that make him trustworthy? Virgil wasn’t sure, but it did make him the only other person Virgil could turn to right now. Did that mean he  _should_  turn to Patton for help, though?

 “Ugh!” Virgil hit the pantry door in frustration, but with his bad leg he was thrown off balance as the door suddenly opened. His arms windmilled as he tried to keep steady, teetering on the edge before falling forwards. Virgil let out a scream.

 Patton had just been checking on the cookies when he heard a scream. He turned around just in time to see a small figure fall into a bowl of cookie dough. Running over, Patton peered inside, shocked to see the same tiny person from before.

 “Kiddo!” He hesitated but carefully reached a hand in and grabbed the kiddo by the back of his poncho thing, quickly setting him down on the counter next to the bowl.

 “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? I-I thought you left?” Patton asked, unable to contain his questions. He noticed how dirty he was now and went over to grab a washcloth. He wet it a little under the sink and then set it next to the little guy to use.

 “Here, to wash yourself off.”

 Virgil, thoroughly embarrassed and understandably frightened from his fall, took a moment to calm his heart rate before beginning to wash the sticky residue off himself.

 Now came the difficult part. Virgil couldn’t explain what happened by just shaking his head. He’d have to actually  _speak_.  _To a human_. Virgil gulped, hoping he could get help for Roman without giving too much away.

 “I-I…” Virgil cursed in his head, hating how his voice stuttered.  _You’re weak you can’t do this you’re too small to help Roman_ \- “I’m, okay.”

 Patton’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting for the kiddo to actually  _talk_. In fact, Patton had begun to think he couldn’t.

 “You can talk.” Patton spoke softly, voice full of awe. He realized how that must have sounded though, and shook his head. “I-I mean, that’s good.” Patton bit his lip.

 “Um…if you don’t mind me asking, why did you come back?” Patton asked softly, not wanting to scare the little guy into going silent again.

 “Um…” Virgil tried to figure out how to give as little information as possible while still explaining. “I h-have a friend like me, and I think he’s in trouble.” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing as he found more cookie dough stuck to his hand. “And… I have no one else to h-help me.”

 “Oh no!” Patton exclaimed. “Of course I’ll help you kiddo!” He bent down so he was more eye level with him and sent him a gentle smile. “So, how can I help?”

 Virgil took a step back but tried to stand his ground as Patton moved. “W-well, I think my friend was found by a human, like you.” Virgil explained. “And people like me aren’t really supposed to be seen by humans, so I was hoping…” The more he said it aloud, the dumber he realized it all was; a human helping borrowers? Stupid,  _stupid_ \-  “…well, I was hoping that you could try and, er, let my friend go. Like maybe talking to the human? Or sneaking in for a rescue attempt? It’s kinda a stupid plan, I guess.”

 “It’s not stupid.” Patton said, gentle yet firm. “I can talk to the human, er, do you happen to know where they live?”

 “Yes.” Virgil nodded.  “It’s the human who lives on the fifth floor.”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “Logan? You think Logan has your friend?” That…would honestly explain a lot actually. Thinking back to that morning with this new piece of information in mind, it fit  _way_  too well. How Logan was distracted, pushed him away from his hug, didn’t want him touching his bag, cutting up food into tiny pieces…It all made sense.

 “Uh, maybe?” Virgil looked sheepish. “I don’t know his name, I’m not by that apartment much these days.”

 Patton hummed. If Logan indeed had the little guy’s friend, then at least it would be easier to talk to him than with a complete stranger.

 “Well, it sure sounds like Logan. But, that’s good. Logan’s my best friend, if he does have your friend, he should be just fine. Logan isn’t the type to hurt others.”

 Virgil did not share the same feelings as Patton. Humans don’t seem as dangerous to other humans. If the humans were friends, would Patton not help him anymore?

 “I’m not sure about that.” Virgil disagreed. “And this ‘Logan’ shouldn’t have my friend at all, he deserves to be free.” Was Patton the type who would follow his friend’s example and  _keep_  Virgil?

 Patton hummed. He hadn’t been thinking of that, but even if Logan wasn’t hurting the other tiny person, it seemed safe to assume that he was in fact keeping him. Which didn’t sit right with Patton at all.

 “You’re right, he does. Don’t worry, I’ll help you get your friend back!” Patton paused, thinking for a moment. “On one condition.”

 Virgil began to panic. What? Condition? What did Patton want from him? But on the outside, Virgil tried to remain collected. “What condition?” He asked wearily.

 Patton sent him a large smile. “What’s your name?”

 Virgil breathed a sigh of relief. That was it? Really?

 “Virgil.” He answered with a small smile.

***

 Logan sighed, entering his bedroom after a long day of classes. Glancing at his phone, Logan noticed he had a missed call from Patton. He put his phone back in his pocket, not really wanting to talk to Patton right now. He set his book bag down in his room on the floor. Reaching into his computer bag, Logan pulled Roman out and set him on the desk before setting the computer bag on the floor as well.

 Roman rubbed at his eyes as soon as he was put down, not used to the sudden light. He dusted himself off, glad to actually be back. The school had been less terrifying more boring. Honestly, Roman had never been so bored in his life. He had no idea what any of the teachers were talking about and he had nothing to do while stuck in Logan’s bag. Overall, not a fun day.

 “That sucked.” Roman complained, glaring up at Logan.

 “Oh?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “How come?”

 “Oh I don’t know. Maybe because I was trapped in a bag all day, forced to listen to humans talk about things I don’t know  _anything_  about.” Roman crossed his arms and huffed. “The least you could have done was let me mess around on your phone.”

 “Well I couldn’t have my phone suddenly blaring music in the middle of class.” Logan argued. “Not only would that be suspicious, it’s just rude to the professor.” Logan cared very deeply about not being rude to professors, seeing as he hoped to be one someday.

 “Whatever. Just please tell me we don’t have to go back tomorrow.” That was  the last thing Roman wanted.

 “Well, actually,” Logan nodded, “I don’t have class tomorrow.” Although Logan figured it would be best not to mention he would have class the following day.

 “Wait, really? Yes!” Roman was going to count that as a win, at this point he was taking them where he could get them.

 “So…” Roman took notice that he was on the desk. Which really only meant one thing. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say it’s question time?”

 Logan sat down and pulled out his notebook. “You’ve guessed correctly.”

 “Alright, cool. So, do you actually do anything fun around here?” Roman asked, deciding right then to flip this whole question thing on its head and ask his own.

 Logan paused. “Wait, what?”

 “I mean, I’ve been with you for like a day and a half at this point, and all you’ve done is drool over me, work, sleep, and go to school.” Roman explained, eyebrow raised.

 “I don’t  _drool over you_.” Logan muttered. “And yes, for your information I do know how to have fun.” He gestured to his bookshelf. “I usually spend a good deal of my free time reading. I also have a fondness for reading and writing poetry.”

 Roman sent him a deadpanned look. “Yeah, no offense, but that’s not fun.”

 “Well that’s just what people who don’t read books say.” Logan looked at Roman, getting an idea. “Roman, do you know how to read?”

 Roman stuttered in offence. “ _Of course_ , I can read. I’m not a child.” No matter how many times Logan called him one.

 Logan opened his notebook and scribbled this down. “How did you learn to read?”

 “The same way you did, I assume. My parents taught me. Though, our learning was less for, er, ‘pleasure’ and more about survival.”

 “Survival?” Logan tilted his head slightly in confusion. “Why is the ability to read crucial to a borrower’s survival?”

 “Well.” Roman started. “For the most part we use the skill to read labels on food and other things. To make sure it’s safe and not poison or something like that.”

 Logan nodded. “Of course, that makes sense. How clever of you, really, to use written language to adapt to the human world. Do you know how to write then as well?”

 “Why thank you.” Roman answered, rather smug. He frowned in thought at the question. “I mean, I assume so? I’ve never tried before.”

 “Well, would you like to try?” Logan asked, turning to a blank page and holding out his pencil.

 “Uh…sure.” Roman said, walking over and taking the pencil from Logan’s hand. He shifted his grip, trying to hold it in a way that would work best for him. He climbed onto the notebook, putting the tip of the pencil down, but paused.

 “Um…what should I write?” Roman asked.

 “Whatever you like.” Logan answered. “Although if you’re lacking creativity, the phrase “Hello World” is often the first printed by programmers learning to code, so you could borrow that.”

 Roman blinked, before glaring. He was not ‘lacking in creativity’, it was actually quite the opposite, he could totally think of something on his own. Sticking out his tongue, he started writing once he got a sentence in mind.

 ‘LoGon iS STypib’

 It took Logan a minute to translate the terrible spelling:  _Logan is Stupid_. He frowned. “Your spelling is atrocious.”

 “What?” Roman looked over what he had written. It…did look a  _little_  off, but Roman wasn’t about to admit it. “It  _clearly_  says you’re stupid.”

 “Well that may have been your intention, it is certainly not clear from a first glance.” Logan informed him. “You’ll have to work on your penmanship and spelling to become more legible.”

 Roman frowned, dropping the pencil. “Why? There is literally no point to me learning. Not to mention, it isn’t exactly easy, writing with a pencil twice your height.”

 “Well, perhaps we can work on finding you a smaller writing utensil.” Logan picked the pencil back up, twirling it thoughtfully in his fingers. “And certainly, if most borrowers learn to read out of survival, it would be useful to know how to write so that you would have the ability to leave messages and written advice for other borrowers. Not to mention, writing would help allow you to keep in contact with borrowers across distances since you wouldn’t necessarily have to travel there in person to communicate.”

 Roman raised an eyebrow. “That would be great and all, except for the fact we have no way of getting the letters across the distances unless we took them ourselves. And at that point, there is no point.” Roman sighed, crossing his arms. “You keep thinking like a human. We may be similar, but we have vastly different lifestyles.”

 “Well I’m not saying I have a full-fledged borrower postal service ready.” Logan argued. “But humans had to come up with the postal service at one point. Who’s to say borrowers can’t come up with something similar? Or even just give letters to other traveling borrowers and ask them to drop off letters as they pass by residencies. The point I was trying to make was that there’s no point developing a way to get letters to travel between borrowers if there are no letters. Solve problem A before you move on to problem B.”

 “Right, because teaching only me, is going to ‘solve problem A’ for every borrower.” Sure, Roman would admit that it would be cool to have a way to communicate with other borrowers. But it wasn’t a huge problem, a lot of them were fine with how things were. Not a lot of borrowers ever wanted to move far from home anyway.

 “It’s certainly a start.” Logan shrugged. “Someone has to be the first.”

 Roman hummed, but didn’t say anything more. There really was no use arguing with Logan. The human seemed to have an answer for everything and didn’t even listen to what he had to say anyway.

 Logan’s phone buzzed, a text from Patton shown on the lock screen. ‘Logan, can we talk please?’ Logan glanced at his phone, sighing and putting it away.

 Roman tilted his head. “What was that about?” Roman asked, pointing to where Logan had put the phone away. He had heard it buzz and the way Logan looked at it had been weird.

 “Just Patton again.” Logan sighed. “He keeps trying to get a hold of me.”

 “Well…aren’t you going to answer him? It could be important.” Roman couldn’t even  _think_  about ignoring Virgil if he really needed him.

 “He lives three floors below me, if it’s important he’ll just come up here.” Logan explained. “Besides, I still need to keep some distance from him, for your sake.”

 “I guess…” Roman was happy about that part of it, again, not wanting any other human to know about him. But he still felt bad for Patton. He somehow felt responsible for how Logan treated him.

 “Anyway, you never really answered my question.”

 “Which question?” Logan’s mind was still on Patton. Should he call him? Maybe tonight, when Patton was asleep so he could make it go straight to voicemail. He wanted to lie directly to Patton as little as possible, and hearing Patton’s voice would only make it harder than necessary.

 “Do you do  _anything_  fun. And don’t say reading or writing or learning or something like that.”

 “Oh goodness gracious, you’re still caught up on that?” Logan rolled his eyes. “Those  _are_  fun activities when you’re an intellectual. But I do other things as well, like listening to music.”

 Roman perked up at that. “Music? Like what played earlier, from that musical Hamilton?”

 “Yes, exactly.” Logan nodded. “Although that’s out of my usual genre. Before the musical came out I mainly listened to classical music while I studied as it has been proven to boost brain activity.”

 “I love music! Though, I don’t get to listen to it much. Only when humans play it loud enough for me to even hear. I do tend to create my own music though.” Roman said, excited to talk about something he actually  _liked_.

 “Really?” Logan was a bit surprised to hear that someone from such a secretive race would enjoy making noise simply for pleasure. “How do you create music, then?”

 “Well, with my amazing voice of course!” Roman exclaimed. “Allow me to demonstrate.” He cleared his throat.

 “ _Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you_!” Roman sang, it was from a song he had heard multiple times over the last few years.

 “Stop.” Logan shut his eyes, cringing. “Please stop.” He couldn’t believe he was just rick rolled by a  _borrower_. Logan often got many rick-rolls from Patton, who found it hilarious to send Logan strange links that all led back to that famous song. Logan just found it tedious.

 Roman stopped, and glared. “Rude.”

 “Sorry, it’s not your singing.” Logan corrected, not wanting to offend the little guy. “It’s just that I hear that song far too often, to the point where I hate hearing it.”

 “Oh. Well, that’s fine then.” As long as Logan wasn’t insulting his singing, he was fine. “But, that’s one of the only actual songs I know in full. Considering I’ve heard it so much.”

 Another buzz, indicating another text. ‘Please, Logan. It’s important.’ Logan didn’t know why he even bothered checking it, deciding to put it on silent with a huff.


	16. Soup and Showers bring May Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Logan makes soup for dinner, it gets a bit messy to the point where Roman looks as though he could use a bath...

Logan glanced at the clock, noticing how late it had gotten.

 

“We should probably get dinner.” Logan said. This was the only warning Roman got before he was once again grabbed, Logan standing up and making his way to the kitchen.

 

Roman yelped at suddenly being grabbed, even though he should really expect it at this point. “I know I can’t stop you from picking me up, but again, a warning would be nice.”

 

 

Logan paused for a moment, glancing down at the borrower held in his fist. He imagined how being picked up unexpectedly could be very startling to Roman, to the point of possibly being traumatizing. After all, if something proportionate as his arm was to Roman- say, a desk- suddenly began moving towards Logan, he would certainly lose a year off his life in fright.

 

“My apologies.” Logan amended, setting Roman down on the counter. “I’ll do my best.”

 

 

“Wait, really?” Roman asked, a bit shocked Logan even answered him. 

 

 

“Well, I can understand how my movements may startle you at times.” Logan explained, opening the fridge. He thought of Roman’s reaction as similar to a frightened rabbit in that regard, although he didn’t voice this analogy aloud. “It seems fair to not give you a heart attack every time we travel between rooms.”

 

 

“That is an understatement.” Roman muttered, before speaking up. “Well, thanks, I guess.” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. It was a bit unsettling that it had taken  _ this _ long for Logan to notice his discomfort towards being picked up suddenly.

 

“So, what’s for dinner?” Roman asked, deciding for now to change the subject. Besides, he was pretty hungry.

 

 

“Soup.” Logan answered, pulling out a can of chicken noodle soup. He poured it into a pot and turned on the stove.

 

“Soup?” Roman asked, walking over to the now empty can and looking it over. “What’s soup?”

 

 

Logan glanced at the borrower. “Oh, well this one, it’s a combination of chicken, noodles, and vegetables in a warm chicken broth. But at its core soup is just a combination of ingredients in a liquid base.”

 

“Oh, cool.” Roman paused, staring over the picture on the can while thinking over Logan’s explanation. “Wait, how am I gonna eat it?”

 

Logan raised an eyebrow. Why was Roman asking him how to eat food?  “Like you would eat anything? Or I suppose you could treat it as a drink since it’s mostly liquid.”

 

 

“I guess.” Roman knew it was going to be difficult though. Especially with the chunks of chicken and noodles within. 

 

 

Logan tested the soup, seeing if it was hot yet. He winced, pulling his finger back quickly as it got a bit burned. Yup, hot.

 

Logan took the pot off the burner, giving it several minutes to significantly cool before serving it. Logan looked around for a bowl small enough for Roman. He considered the bottle cap used earlier as a cup, but it was still next to the sink with residue coffee grounds inside. Logan should probably wash that. 

 

Instead, Logan was stuck with giving Roman a regular bowl. To make sure the borrower could actually reach his soup, Logan had to fill it to the top. It seemed wasteful, but Logan argued to himself that he could just save the excess soup afterwards. 

 

“...Here you are.” Logan set the bowl in front of Roman, taking note of the ridiculous proportion of soup to borrower. Logan now understood Roman’s question about how this would be done. He began to serve himself a bowl as well, trying to think of a better solution.

 

 

Roman walked up to the bowl, sizing it up. The top of the bowl came up to his chest, so he planted his hands on it and lifted himself up. Balancing on his stomach on the edge of the bowl, he bent down to slurp some soup.

 

The bowl, however, was fairly slippery and as Roman leaned forward his hands slipped. He yelped as he dove head first into the bowl of soup. At least the soup was only warm, instead of hot.

 

 

“Roman!” Logan quickly reached into the bowl with his hand, pulling Roman out by the back of his shirt. “What-...Why were you-...Are you alright?”

 

 

Roman sputtered, spitting out some soup. He’s pretty sure he breathed some in, the coughing confirming that.

 

“I’m-” He let out a big cough and a sound that sounded like he was choking, but really wasn’t. He sighed with relief when it passed. “I’m fine.”

 

“Then what were you thinking?” Logan said exasperatedly, walking over to the sink with one hand held under Roman as he dripped soup.

 

“I don’t know! It’s not like I  _ wanted _ to fall into the soup!” Roman exclaimed, flailing around. He did not like how Logan was currently holding him.

 

 

“You should be more careful.” Logan scolded, still a bit thrown off by the sudden fright. He set Roman down on the counter, turning on the tap. He began to adjust the water so that it was more gentle and lukewarm, washing his own hands off.

 

 

Roman shook his hands, trying to get the soup off of him. He looked up at Logan and glared when he realized he was washing his hands. “Hey, you think  _ I _ could get something to wash this stuff off with?”

 

 

“Don’t worry, you’re next.” Logan assured him, testing the water pressure one last time before grabbing Roman carefully with his still wet and slightly slippery hands.

 

 

“Wha-? Hey! No! Put me down!” Roman yelled, struggling against the hand. He realized what Logan was about to do and did not like it one bit.

 

Logan paused, adjusting his grip to not drop Roman. “Roman, you’re filthy. And you were just asking for a way to wash off.”

 

 

“I meant, with like, a cloth or something!” Roman huffed, his struggles slowed down, but didn’t fully stop.

 

 

“This’ll be faster and cleaner.” Logan argued. “Just stay still and hold your breath for a few moments.”

 

 

“Wait! What about my clothes? These are the only ones I have.” Currently, anyway. He did have more back at his place, but of course, Logan wouldn’t be allowing him to leave to go and retrieve them.

 

 

This made Logan truly pause. “You don’t have any back in your home?”

 

 

“Well, yes, but I don’t see how that is important. You’re not going to let me leave.” Roman answered, feeling himself deflate slightly at the reminder. It was weird, how Roman could say it almost casually at this point. 

 

 

“Roman, I’m not going to stop you from getting clean clothes.” Logan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly with concern. “I’ll just wait here for you to come back.”

 

 

Roman sighed in frustration. “I am not risking my photo getting out.” 

 

Logan knew there was no such risk, as he never intended to actually share the photo. However, Logan also knew that if Roman knew that, he would never come back. Logan sighed. This agreement was supposed to help his conscious, but now he was guilty again. Roman was so afraid of Logan’s actions that he refused to even go home to get clean clothes for himself. 

 

Logan turned off the tap, not wanting to waste water as he thought this over. He didn’t want Roman to be  _ so  _ afraid that Roman was scared to leave even when necessary, but he also wanted Roman to be afraid enough to come back. Actually, no, that was a lie- Logan didn’t want Roman to be afraid at all. He just didn’t want to lose Roman forever. 

 

Logan set Roman back on the counter, crouching down to pull a washcloth out from the cabinet under the sink. He stood up and got it slightly wet with the help of the sink before setting it in front of Roman.

 

“Here you go.” Logan said quietly.

 

 

Roman blinked in silent shock at the washcloth and Logan. Looking back and forth between the two. He  _ really _ didn’t think Logan would actual change his mind. But Roman was glad for it, at least. Roman mentally added this as another win before taking the washcloth and starting to clean himself of the soup.

 

“Thanks.” Roman said, as he scrubbed at his hair.

 

Logan picked up the bottle cap of coffee remains that was next to the sink and began to use water and his fingernails to scrub it out. Once it was clean, Logan brought it and both soup bowls over to the counter. Logan used the cap to scoop some soup and a bit of chicken out of Roman’s bowl, setting this in front of Roman. 

 

“This might be better.” Logan said. “Seeing as how it’s a bit small for you to fall in again.”

 

 

Roman finished washing himself, cracking a small smile. “Thanks.” Roman said again, though his tone was bordering on teasing. He set aside the washcloth and picked up the soup, taking a sip. Roman hummed in contempt.

 

“This is really good!” Roman took another sip, this time getting some chicken. “Man, I never thought warm food could be  _ this _ good.”

 

 

“Have you ever had warm food?” Logan asked, taking a few sips of his own. He had assumed that borrowers, given their eating habits, would live off mostly cold scraps. However, it was also possible that some borrowers could cook or knew other methods to heat up food.

 

 

“Nope.” Roman said, taking another sip. “I’m sure some borrowers have their ways. But my parents never saw a point, it was easier to just eat it how we took it. I never saw the point either, well, until now that it.” Roman ate another bite of chicken. After tasting warm food, he wasn’t sure he could go back. That...honestly scared him and Roman stopped eating for a moment.

 

This was nice, he couldn’t ever remember a time when he ate enough to feel full or had food  _ this _ good, but...Roman glanced up at Logan, who always seemed to be hovering over him, and felt a shiver go down his spine. He turned back to his food. He thought for a moment, before sighing and taking another sip.

 

“Mmm.” Logan nodded. He swallowed. “I usually don’t bother with cooking, instead going for a quick sandwich or something. But if it’s important to you I’m willing to do it more often.” He was willing to do a lot of things to make Roman want to stay.

 

 

“That...That would be great.” Roman said, forcing a smile, still caught up in his thoughts. He looked down to see the cap was empty and set it down.

 

He ran a hand through his hair. “Thanks again.”

 

“Of course.” Logan looked down at the finished bottle cap. “Are you still hungry?”

 

 

“No, actually. It was pretty filling.” Roman shifted his feet, glancing up at Logan. He had the sudden need to  _ not _ be in Logan’s shadow and so moved away a bit. 

 

 

“Alright.” Logan finished up his own soup, putting away the excess soup and throwing the dirty dishes in the sink. He crouched down, putting his folded arms on the edge of the counter.

 

“So…” Logan cleared his throat, not a big fan of small talk. But if he wanted Roman to actually enjoy his company, he couldn’t keep interviewing Roman like a talking lab rat. “...what would,  _ you _ like to do, Roman?”

 

 

Roman almost answered that what he really wanted to do was  _ leave _ , but he bit his tongue. It wasn’t like Logan would listen anyway. So, he tried thinking of something else that they could do. 

 

“Maybe-” Roman was cut off by a knock at the door.


	17. Is Patton joining Team Logan??

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton shows up to free Roman. Logan finally shows feelings of guilt.

With Logan not answering his calls or texts, Patton had decided to go up to Logan’s apartment himself. He decided to go alone, mostly because Virgil did not want to be picked up if he could help it and Patton respected his wishes. Besides, if Logan  _ didn’t _ have Virgil’s friend, but ended up finding Virgil, well...That wouldn’t be good.

 

But, Patton was pretty sure he did. It just made the most sense, everything considered. So, when he reached Logan’s door, he knocked rather hard. He wasn’t going to let Logan ignore him anymore.

 

Logan glanced up at his front door in fear. He looked back down at Roman. “Wait here.” He instructed, quickly making his way through the kitchen and living room to look through the peephole where he could clearly see Patton on the other side. 

 

Glancing back towards the kitchen, Logan was happy to see that he couldn’t spot Roman’s location from here. Logan opened the door only the slightest bit so he could look out and talk to Patton without letting him into the apartment. “Patton? What’s wrong?”

 

Patton opened his mouth, before closing it again. Shoot, what was he supposed to say? He should have planned this on the way here. He couldn’t just straight up ask him about Virgil’s friend, just in case Logan didn’t have him. But if he simply asked to talk, Logan might turn him away. 

 

“I know.” Left Patton’s lips before he could fully process it.

 

“What?” Logan’s eyebrows furrowed.

 

Patton bit his lip. “I know about…” Patton quickly thought of something to say that wouldn’t actually give it away. “Your new friend.” Patton said, and then put his hands to scale to Virgil’s height for added measure.

 

Logan’s eyes widened. He sent a glance at the kitchen before he quickly joined Patton out in the hallway, closing his front door behind him. “How?” Logan asked quietly, mind racing already to try to find answers. Had Roman popped out of his bag sometime today? Were they not careful enough?

 

Patton’s own eyes widened. “So you  _ do _ have him!”

 

“Shh, keep your voice down.” Logan looked anxiously back at his door for a moment. 

 

Patton sighed, but did so. “Is he okay? Is he hurt? Not that I think you would do anything! I’m just worried.”

 

“He’s...fine.” Logan said slowly. Roman was fine physically, even if most of the time he was miserable. “But Patton, you need to tell me how you know about him. Did you see him earlier? Did you tell anyone else?”

 

Patton shook his head. “No, I-well...I found his friend. He was in my apartment when I got home and…” Patton looked down in guilt. “I caught him, but hurt his ankle in the process. I fixed it up for him, er, well, let him fix himself up anyway and then I let him go.” Patton paused.

 

“But, he came back to ask for help, because his friend was missing and he was worried he was hurt. He told me he thought  _ you _ had him and it looks like he was right.”

 

“You found another borrower?” Logan took a moment to process all that Patton had just said. “A friend of Roman’s? He  _ came back _ ?”

 

“A borrower?” Patton questioned, tilting his head. “And yeah, like I said, Virgil came back to ask for help. He’s  _ really _ worried about his friend.”

 

“Borrowers are what they call themselves.” Logan said distractedly. He didn’t like the sound of other borrowers worrying about Roman’s absence. Roman had told Logan he lived alone. Was that just a lie to keep his housemates out of danger? Logan only felt content with his actions when he was under the assumption that there was nothing awaiting Roman at his house, other than clean clothes and the like. If Logan was actively holding him back from being with others, that was a different scenario entirely. 

 

“This Virgil,” Logan asked, “what’s he like?”

 

“He’s a shy kiddo, that’s for sure. He didn’t even talk to me until he came back the second time. He was also...really scared. Of me. He still is, but the only reason he pushed through his fear was for his friend.” Patton smiled a bit at that. He admired Virgil for that.

 

“So he trusts you.” Logan put a hand to his chin, asking his next question slowly. “And, if you were to let him go again, do you think he’d come back?”

 

“What do you mean ‘let him go again’? I’m not keeping him, at least not anymore, though I don’t really think I ever planned on it. I can’t be sure, it went by so fast.” Patton said, thinking out loud a bit. “Anyway, you make it seem like I’m holding him back from actually leaving. Which, I’m not. And he probably wouldn’t come back, not if he had his friend back.” Patton explained, eyebrows furrowed.

 

Logan winced. He wasn’t proud of his actions, especially when Patton voiced them like that. And it was equally disheartening to hear that even the borrower who  _ did  _ come back wouldn’t have come back without collateral… aka, Roman himself. 

 

So how could he get Roman to stay? He couldn’t keep Roman in this fearful mindset forever. But his mind was lacking any good solutions.

 

“Patton, I need you to understand something.” Logan looked at his best friend. “I have not hurt Roman. I have no intention of hurting Roman. He will be fine. But I just… if Virgil finds out about Roman, he’s sure to come over here and investigate and everything will be ruined. So I need you to not tell Virgil that Roman’s here.”

 

“What!?” Patton exclaimed, eyes going wide. “You can’t-Logan, you can’t just  _ keep _ Roman. He’s his own person!” 

 

“I know that!” Logan argued. “But…” Logan twiddled his fingers anxiously. “I don’t want to lose him forever yet. I  _ can’t. _ ”

 

“Logan...this-this isn’t right.” Patton said, voice going soft. “I know the discovery of these, er, borrowers are amazing. And a part of me doesn’t want to let Virgil go either.” Patton admitted. “But, keeping them captive is  _ wrong _ .”

 

Logan ran his fingers through his hair. “Patton, I know. Believe me, my moral compass has not stopped bugging me about this dilema, and I hold you solely accountable.” Logan took a long sigh. “But if Roman left now, I don’t think I could live with myself knowing how I acted and what he thought of me. I want to be able to end things on a more pleasant note. I’m  _ trying,  _ Patton, really trying here. Just give me a few days to fix everything.”

 

Patton searched Logan’s eyes before slumping his shoulders and sighing. “I hate lying.” Patton mumbled, rubbing his arm. “And lying to Virgil? If he finds out, any trust he had in me would be shattered.”

 

“I’ll take the blame.” Logan looked at Patton with pity, not liking putting his best friend in such a tricky situation as well. This was Logan’s mess, after all. “If he finds out, just say that I told you to say it and make me sound terrible so he hates me and pities you.”

“Logan…” Patton didn’t like that almost as much as he didn’t like lying. But Patton knew, deep down, that Logan meant what he said and that he just wanted things to be good between him and Roman. “Alright. I’ll do it. But!” Patton paused for a moment.

 

“You have until Saturday night before I come and check on you, okay?”

 

That gave Logan just about 72 hours. Would that be enough? “Okay.” Logan nodded anyways. “I promise Roman is in good hands.”

 

“I trust you Logan. Just...try to understand him a little better. I know you aren’t the best when it comes to feelings and things like that. But, it might help you with Roman if you keep that in mind.”

 

“I’m well aware of my faults in the emotional department and I’ll try to keep that in mind.” Logan assured him.

 

“Okay, then...I guess I’ll be off. I have to...break the news to Virgil.” Patton winced slightly, the thought of lying alone was enough for guilt to form. He waved goodbye to Logan, thinking about what he was going to say as he left for his own apartment.

 

“Best of luck.” Logan waved goodbye, already feeling sorry for Patton. He went back into his own apartment and leaned against the door, taking a deep breath. Another borrower, huh? And now Logan only had a few days to try and gain Roman’s trust, a process that would normally be expected to take possibly months. 

 

“Sorry about that.” Logan said, coming back to the kitchen. He froze. Roman was nowhere to be seen.


	18. Time to Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman gets a taste of independence when he gets to call the shots.

Roman watched as Logan left the kitchen and then the familiar sound of the front door opening, before closing again soon after. Roman expected Logan to come back, but after a few minutes, realized Logan must have stepped outside the apartment to talk to whoever had come knocking. Which was probably the best for Roman, considering he didn’t want anyone else knowing he existed.

 

Roman tapped his foot impatiently and then looked out into the expanse of the kitchen. He was  _ so bored _ . But maybe...while Logan was gone, he could explore a little. He knew it was useless to try and escape, his only two exits were both blocked after all, but that didn’t mean he had to stay in one place. 

 

Roman walked to the edge and looked down. It would be a harder to climb without his hook, of course, but he could manage. So, without another moment of hesitation, he started the climb down the the floor. His hands and feet fit into the small grooves in the wood. Too small for a human to notice, but perfect for borrowers to climb with.

 

Roman made it to the floor with no problem and started across it. And even though he was currently alone in the home, he still tried to stick to the wall as best as he could. Just in case. He left the kitchen, having seen enough of it the past day and instead decided on exploring the living room. It was the room he had spent the least amount of time in (excluding the bathroom), and the one time he  _ had _ been in here he hadn’t exactly stopped to look around.

 

The furniture was simple, basic. It fit Logan perfectly, if he was being honest. A dark leather couch with a matching armchair, the bookshelf that Roman had climbed the night before, and a TV on a wooden nightstand. Roman took another glance towards the bookshelf, and sized it up. He hadn’t noticed it the night before, but it was taller than Logan himself. He had only made it about half way before he had fallen.

 

Well, challenge accepted.

 

Roman made his way over to the bookshelf and quickly started to climb up it. He was thankful it was wood, or else this would have been close to impossible. But like with the cabinets in the kitchen, the wooden stand had small grooves that made it easy to climb.

 

Roman just got to the top when the front door of the apartment opened and Logan came back inside. Roman watched from his perch, taking a seat on the edge. Logan leaned against the door for a few moments, before walking into the kitchen. He heard his voice, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. Roman could only assume he had noticed his absence.

 

 

Logan slowly looked down at the ground, scanning his path from the front door. He was vastly relieved to not see a bloody splat indicating the borrower had been stepped on in Logan’s negligence. 

 

“Roman?” Logan called out. With cautious steps, Logan made his way over to the counter, moving dishes around to look for the borrower. Logan’s anxiety quickly heightened when the borrower was nowhere to be seen on the island countertop. Could Roman have gotten down? Logan crawled on his hands and knees, checking the kitchen floor. He moved onto the cabinets, opening and closing doors and drawers that Logan wasn’t even sure Roman could get into on his own. 

 

“Roman, this isn’t funny.” Logan said, a little louder as he got more worried. If Roman had gotten off the counter, it was possible that Roman had gotten out of  the kitchen entirely. But Logan hadn’t been gone long, how far could the little guy have gotten?

 

“Roman?” Logan called again, eyes on the ground as he slowly entered the living room.

 

Roman could vaguely hear his name being called, but knew there was no point in calling back while Logan was still in the kitchen. After a while, Logan finally came into the living room and Roman couldn’t help but smirk when he saw Logan was keeping his eyes to the floor. 

 

“Yo, nerd!” Roman called out.

 

 

Logan looked up, searching for the source of the sound. After a moment, Logan caught a glimpse of Roman standing up on top of his large bookshelf. He gave a small smile, relieved to see Roman was alright. Although the distance Roman had travelled was rather impressive. It seemed Logan kept underestimating him.

 

“What are you doing up there?” Logan asked, coming closer to the bookshelf and tilting his head back to keep looking at Roman.

 

Roman shrugged. “I was bored, so I decided to explore a bit. Stretch out my legs and climb.” he sat down at the edge, swinging his legs back and forth.

 

 

“Uh huh.” Logan crossed his arms. “So what next, then?”

 

“I don’t know. You still letting me decide?” Roman asked, raising an eyebrow. “By the way, who was at the door?”

 

“Just Patton.” Logan answered with a shrug, hiding his nerves as he thought about his conversation with Patton. “And yes, I figured it’s about time we do what you want.”

 

 

“Is that so?” Roman wondered how that had happened. But he wasn’t about to turn it down. “Well then, how about you let me mess with that thing you were on earlier. The...bigger phone.” Roman said, trying to explain the device as best as he could, since he didn’t know the actual name of it.

 

 

Logan considered this for a moment, going into his bedroom to retrieve his laptop and bringing it back. “Do you mean this? My laptop?”

 

“Yeah! That.” So it was called a laptop, huh? Interesting. 

 

 

Logan was regretting offering to do what Roman wanted. There was a lot more important data on his laptop that could easily be ruined by a clumsy (or malicious) borrower. But, Logan figured that would just be a risk he would have to take to gain Roman’s trust. 

 

“Alright, you can …” _ mess with _ ” my laptop.” Logan put up air quotes. “But only for a little while, and you have to listen to me. There’s a lot of important documents and files on this that I don’t want you to mess up.”

 

 

“Fantastic! Let me just get down from up here.” Roman said, before starting to climb back down the bookshelf.

 

Logan’s first instinct was to just grab Roman and carry him to the bedroom himself, but then Logan remembered how Roman had asked for a warning and how he valued his independence. Besides, he didn’t want to startle Roman and cause him to fall off the bookshelf  _ again. _

 

“Do you want me to… speed up this process?” Logan asked, shifting his laptop to tuck it under one arm and free up one hand.

 

 

Roman paused in his climbing, not even halfway down yet. He glanced back at Logan and wondered, what if he said no? Would Logan just grab him anyway? Was the question just for show? Roman decided to test it.

 

“No, I’m good.” Roman continued his climb down.

 

 

Logan nodded, wanting to respect Roman’s wishes. However, Logan began to get impatient as Roman was halfway down. He checked his watch. 

 

“Are you sure?” Logan pushed, hating this inefficiency. If he helped they would already be set up and logging on by now.

 

 

“I’m sure.” Roman was surprised Logan hadn’t already grabbed him, especially judging by his tone. He didn’t stop climbing until he had reached the floor. He turned around and had to crane his neck back in order to see Logan’s face. And that was only because Logan had his head tilted down to look at him.

 

Roman took a few nervous steps back. Their height difference was obvious before, but it seemed even more startling with him on the floor like this. 

 

 

“Alright.” Logan crouched down, feeling strange bending his face down so far to look at Roman. He understood Roman’s request for a warning before being picked up, but it felt strange to Logan. “I’ll just… pick you up now, warning and all that.” Logan cringed at his own words, reaching out his hand.

 

 

“Whoa, wait!” Roman shouted, moving away from the hand as it continued to come closer. 

 

 

Logan paused, his hand frozen in midair. “You said to let you get down first, so I assumed now it was time to go.”

 

 

“I didn’t say I was good until I got down. I just said I was good. And I’m still good. I have legs, I can walk.” Roman tried, watching Logan’s hand warily. Sure, Logan had...warned him, but he was still being grabbed. Something Roman still didn’t like, despite it happening countless times before.

 

Roman felt like he was really pushing it though, and was nervous to see how Logan would react. Though, Roman figured the worst thing would be he would be ignored and grabbed anyway. At least, he could only hope that was the worst thing.

 

Logan raised an eyebrow. Were all borrowers this stubborn, or did he just get unlucky? 

 

Still, with a sigh and an eye roll Logan pulled his hand back. He sat down with his back against the couch, figuring he was in for a wait. He made a hand gesture as if to say ‘ _ after you _ ’. 

 

“I think this is pointless.” Logan made sure to give his say on the matter. “But, we are doing what you want to do. If this is how you want to spend your time, then by all means go ahead.”

 

 

Roman blinked, shocked when the hand moved back, as did Logan as a whole. “You’re serious?” Roman asked, close to shocked. Roman didn’t move yet, still half expecting Logan’s hand to reach back out and grab him anyway.

 

Logan nodded. “I’m always serious.” He gestured to his tie, smirking. “I wear a necktie.” 

 

 

Roman raised an eyebrow at that, not quite knowing what that meant, but didn’t dwell on it much. Roman started on the walk towards the bedroom, turning his walk into a slightly faster jog. It actually felt really nice, being able to move on his own, stretching his legs. And while it may have not been the fastest, Roman didn’t mind. This had always been his set speed after all.

 

 

Logan enabled the stopwatch feature of his watch, timing how long it took Roman to get to the bedroom.

 

 

Roman made it to the bedroom door in just a few minutes. He was barely panting, as he sized up the closed door. He looked down at the small opening and, just like the previous night, squeezed himself underneath. He did so as fast as possible, taking a short sprint away from the door when he emerged on the other side, since he knew Logan wouldn’t be far behind. And he didn’t feel like getting hit with a door.

 

 

Logan stopped his timer. 3 minutes, 7 seconds. He sighed, giving Roman a few more moments before he got up and walked over to the bedroom door. Actually, for science he decided to walk back to the couch and time how long it took him to cover the same distance. He started up his watch, walking over to his bedroom door. 

 

3 seconds. ..wow.

 

Logan slowly opened the door, not wanting to hit Roman if he was still nearby. He looked down, spotting Roman about two feet from the door. Logan used this to his advantage, opening the door just enough for him to enter as well before closing it behind him. 

 

 

Roman backed up a few extra steps when Logan came into the room. Roman glanced back and forth between the desk and the bed before walking over towards the bed. He grabbed hold of the sheet that was hanging off the side and then used that to climb on top of the bed. Using the sheet reminded him of his hook.

 

 

Logan stood near the door, shifting awkwardly on his feet. It was strange to feel out of place in his own room, but he couldn’t sit on the bed without risking throwing Roman off entirely while he climbed. At the same time, Roman was climbing fast enough that it’d be strange to try and do anything other than wait. So he just gave a long sigh to once again illustrate his annoyance at Roman’s pride.

 

 

Roman made it to the top of the bed in under a minute, and took a moment to gain his bearings on the new surface. It was harder to walk on the bed, with it being so uneven. When he was balanced enough he turned to Logan, who hadn’t moved since he got into the room.

 

“You going to stand there all day?” Roman asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

 

Logan took a deep breath to calm his rising irritation. He walked over to the bed, sitting down on the side opposite to Roman and plugging in his laptop charger in a nearby outlet. Logan began booting it up, typing in the password and waiting for it to load.

 

Roman backed up a bit as Logan sat down, but then came closer in order to see the laptop better. Frowning when he could just barely see it, Roman decided to find some higher ground. Higher ground meaning Logan.

 

Roman gripped tight onto Logan’s jeans and started to climb the short distance upwards.

 

Logan tensed at the tugging sensation on his leg. Looking down, he could see Roman scaling  _ him  _ similar to the way he scaled the bed just moments ago. 

 

“Roman, what are you doing?” Logan frowned, confused.

 

 

“Trying to see the laptop better.” Roman grunted out as he pushed himself onto Logan’s lap. He stood up shakingly, once again trying to find balance. He found it easier than on the bed though. He then turned towards the laptop and found he was able to see it a lot better, considering he was now right in front of it.

 

 

Logan did not like the sensation of Roman on him, just as he had not enjoyed when Roman was in his pocket. It was not Roman himself, but rather the fact that Roman’s proximity caused Logan to become incredibly tense, not daring to move a muscle, for fear of throwing Roman off his leg entirely.

 

However, Logan could not help but feel a sense of satisfaction as Roman’s actions clearly demonstrated he trusted Logan enough to be on his person. This was certainly a sign of progress. 

 


	19. The stressed need to rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil and Patton share a dinner together, both feeling just a bit guilty.

Patton walked back down to his apartment, thinking over what he was going to tell Virgil. How he was going to  _lie_  to him. He groaned and rubbed his face, hands pushing up his glasses to get to his eyes. He hated this. But Logan was his friend and he trusted him. Besides, Patton wouldn’t have to lie for long. Just for three days and at the end of the day, it wouldn’t matter. Virgil would have his friend back and both would be free and everything would be okay.

 The guilt didn’t leave.

 Patton sighed and unlocked his door, opening it slowly, eyes going to the floor immediately. He doesn’t know if Virgil ended up staying on the counter or decided to go somewhere else, but he didn’t want to accidentally hurt him. Not again.

 “Virgil?” He called out.

 Virgil had hidden away in the cupboard, hating the feeling of being exposed out in the open but his injured leg kept him from travelling too far away. He paused at the sound of Patton’s return, hesitant to reveal himself again out of sheer instinct. Virgil pushed the cabinet door slightly open, being more careful this time since there was no bowl of cookie dough to catch him. Virgil peeked out, but he couldn’t see Patton from his angle.

 “Kiddo?” Patton called out again when he didn’t hear anything. Of course, that might be because Virgil’s voice was too small. He walked into the kitchen, noticing the cupboard door slightly ajar and a little head peeking out from behind it. Patton gave the small figure a gentle smile and pushed the cupboard open all the way.

 “There you are.” Patton said, voice still as gentle and soft as before.

 Virgil took a few steps back for safety when the door opened up, craning his neck back a bit to look Patton in the eye. He was glad to see Patton was alone, as he had been extremely worried Patton would just come back with that human who had taken Roman and just let him take Virgil too.

 Roman wasn’t with Patton either. Was that a good thing? Was Roman home safe? Or was Roman still in the hands of that awful human, Logan?

 “Did..” Virgil gulped, trying to force the words out, not sure if he wanted the answer. “Did you find  …?”

 Patton bit his lip and prepared himself to lie. “I-I’m afraid not kiddo. Logan didn’t have him.”

 Virgil’s eyes widened.  _No_. “Are you sure?”  _No no no no no_ -

 “Yes. I’m really sorry.”

 Virgil pulled his poncho closer to himself, balling it up in his fists in worry. If Patton had failed, what chance did Virgil have of finding Roman? Logan had been his last shot. How would he ever find Roman now? What if he was too late and Roman was already gone forever?

  _You’re too tiny to save him; even the human couldn’t help you_.  _Roman is doomed_. Virgil sunk to his knees, no longer caring about how sitting on his leg caused the pain to flare up. After all, his pain was nothing compared to whatever Roman was probably going through now.

 Patton noticed Virgil curl up with worry. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m sure wherever your friend is he’s fine and just because Logan didn’t have him doesn’t mean I’m not going to stop helping you.” Patton wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort the borrower, but he figured that would be a bad idea.

 “How?” Virgil glared up at Patton, in a moment of anger forgetting his fear. “He could be anywhere by now, we’re never gonna find him.”  _And it’s all my fault_.

 This was not helping Patton’s conscious at all. “Yes we will. I know things look bad, but you have to stay positive. Worrying about what might be can stop you from seeing what really is.” Of course, Patton  _knew_  Roman was…relatively okay and Virgil  _didn’t_.

 “ _Seeing what really is_?” Virgil would have laughed if the situation wasn’t so serious. “Things couldn’t be worse! He’s been  _seen_. I have no idea where he is, he’s without his hook-” Virgil pulled out Roman’s hook for emphasis, “-so he’s trapped somewhere all alone, probably dying, and if he’s not dying he’s gonna die soon because no one who is seen survives.”

 … _Except me_. Virgil realized. He was seen, and yet Patton just let him go.

 “What about you?” Patton unknowingly asked what Virgil was currently thinking. “I know-I understand why you fear humans and think they just want to hurt you. But I don’t. I only want to help and it isn’t a stretch that other humans would want to help you either.” Of course, this also worked the opposite way as Patton was sure there were people who wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage or even…kill a borrower. But Patton didn’t want to think of that right now.

 “I know I can’t guarantee your friend’s safety.” Even though he (kinda) could, but couldn’t actually tell Virgil that. Ugh, he hated lying. “But, you can’t give up.  _We_ can’t give up. We have to have hope that Roman is okay and that you will see him again.”

 It felt weird to be agreeing with a human, but Patton was right. If their roles were switched, Roman wouldn’t just give up on Virgil. Not when there was still even the tiniest chance of success; Roman was stubborn that way.

 “I…” Virgil looked down at his feet, fiddling with his poncho. “You’re right. But, I don’t…” Virgil sighed, running an anxious hand through his hair. Roman was always the man with the plan, the borrower who knew what to do; Virgil was just the worrywart. “I don’t even know where to start. What  _can_  we do?” N _othing, you’re useless._

 “Well…” Patton honestly wasn’t sure how to answer that question. He needed more time to come up with a plan, so…

 “I think maybe we should start with getting some food in you and letting you rest. I know you want to go out and find your friend, but you can’t do that while you’re starving and hurt. And I’m…sure you’re hungry, right?” Patton asked.

 “Well yeah, but…” Virgil let out a small sigh. He was exhausted after a very draining afternoon, but he still felt guilty at the idea of resting while Roman was still MIA.

 “But nothing. I may not know your friend, but I’m sure he wouldn’t want you looking for him in this state. Now,” Patton smiled. “What would you like for dinner, kiddo?”

 “I guess, well, whatever works for you.” Virgil shrugged, wincing as he got to his feet. The very idea of asking a human for a specific meal felt… odd. Especially because Virgil was never good at accepting others’ hospitality in general.

 “Well…” Patton moved away from the cupboard and opened the fridge to check and see what he had. He hummed thoughtfully to himself, wondering what would be the best for Virgil. “How about meatballs and rice?” Patton figured the rice would be easy for Virgil to handle and then he would also have some meat to go along with it. Because, Patton was pretty sure Virgil didn’t get a lot of it.

 “That works.” Virgil nodded, shifting closer to the edge of the cupboard and looking down. He leaned further on his good leg. “If it’s not, y’know, too much trouble.”  _I’m already enough of a burden_.

 “Of course it isn’t!” Patton exclaimed, setting up the rice in the rice cooker. “I actually love cooking for others. I usually cook for Logan at least twice a week, just so he gets  _some_  home cooked meals. I love the guy, but he tends to have some bad habits.” Patton explained, thinking about all the times Logan had stayed up all night or had skipped a meal in favor of getting work down. Patton sighed and started frying up the meat.

 “That’s really nice of you, Patton.” Virgil latched his hook into a nick in the wooden cabinet floor, testing its durability with a tug. Was Patton like this with everyone then, or just Virgil and Logan? It made sense for Patton to help his friend, but Virgil was just a stranger- heck, he might not even be a person in Patton’s eyes. And yet Patton was doing the same as he would for his best friend.  _Why_?

 “Aww, thanks kiddo.” As Patton continued to put dinner together, he watched Virgil carefully. It appeared as if he was about to use his hook to climb down. Something in Patton wanted to stop him and carry him to the counter himself, but he knew that wouldn’t be the best course of action. Besides, if earlier was anything to go by, Virgil was an expert climber. So, Patton focused back on dinner. Though he did keep Virgil in his peripheral.

 Virgil began to make his way down to the cabinet, scaling the side. His leg hit against the wood at an uncomfortable angle and he let out an involuntary yelp, his grip loosening for a moment and causing Virgil to quickly slide down several inches. Virgil frantically gripped at the string, stopping his descent and curling in closer to the string itself.

 “Whoa!” Patton exclaimed, moving away from his cooking and closer to where Virgil hung. “Are okay? Do you need help?” Virgil may have been an expert climber, but Patton had completely forgotten about his injured leg for a hot second there.

 “I’m fine!” Virgil said quickly, hoping to stop Patton from coming closer. Virgil winced as Patton’s shadow fell over him, closing his eyes as he waited for Patton to grab at him.

 Patton stopped. “Alright, kiddo. If you’re sure.” Patton hesitated only slightly before going back to cooking. However, he made sure to keep an extra eye on Virgil, just in case he needed to dive over there to catch him.

 When Patton’s shadow disappeared and his booming footsteps retreated, Virgil dared open his eyes. He hadn’t been grabbed. Patton had listened to him.

 Of course, now Virgil had to deal with the fact that he  _wasn’t_  fine. His leg hurt like a son of a gun, and it hung limply from his body like a dead weight. Virgil almost felt like he had no control over the limb anymore, as if it had taken control away from him just to force him to stop trying to overwork his injured ankle.

 Thinking back, perhaps it wasn’t a good idea for Virgil to walk to the 5th floor apartment and back on a sprained ankle.

 Virgil slowly lowered himself further down the rope, relying solely on his upper arm strength (which was severely lacking for a borrower). When he was near the counter top his arms felt as though they would give out, so he let go and dropped the remaining inch or two onto the counter. He bit back a cry as he managed to land on his injured leg at a strange angle again. He was beginning to feel as though he’d be better without that leg entirely.

 Still sprawled on the counter, Virgil sat up and detached the string with a flick of his wrist, gathering up the string to put away.

 Patton bit his lip with worry, but didn’t do or say anything. If Virgil needed help, he would say something. So Patton finished up dinner, putting his serving on a normal size plate, while putting a smaller serving for Virgil on a small saucer. He then set the saucer down next to Virgil, keeping a hold of his own.

 “There you are! I hope it tastes all… _rice_!” Patton punned, giggling.

 Virgil gave a small smile at the pun. Not wanting to stand yet, Virgil crawled the remaining distance over to what looked to be a saucer of rice just for him. Virgil’s eyes widened at the sheer amount before him, and putting a hand over it realized it was still warm. He used his elbows to prop himself up on the saucer edge, carefully grabbing for a grain. He winced as the heat burned his already rope-burned hands. Virgil waited a minute before trying again, this time using the edge of his poncho as a sort of glove. Gathering up his prize, Virgil took a bite, his smile growing as the warmth began to spread through his body in a pleasant way.

 Patton smiled as he watched Virgil try his food. “Do you like it?” Patton had to ask, even though the answer was pretty obvious based on his expression.

 Virgil nodded, taking another bite. It was strange, eating rice that was warm and soft instead of brittle and cold. Actually, a lot of things were strange- eating out of a saucer, sitting on the counter to eat, eating with a human…. Virgil tried to ignore the hairs on the back of his neck standing up at the feeling of human eyes on him constantly.

 “I’m glad! Oh! Maybe later we can have some of those cookies I baked! I still have plenty even after having to throw away the batter you fell into.” Patton chuckled before taking another bite.

 “Uh, sorry about that.” Virgil ducked his head, embarrassed. He didn’t mean to be the cause of wasted food.

 “Oh, it’s okay!” Patton said quickly after realizing Virgil took it the wrong way. “I need to cut down on the cookies anyway.” He laughed.

 He watched Virgil eat with rapt attention, it was just so  _amazing_. Virgil was so small, yet so human and everything he did was so familiar and yet entirely new. And he was shy and cared for his friend so much…

 Patton pushed down the onslaught of guilt and instead went to go and put his plate in the sink. “So, I was thinking after you’re done eating that I can check on your leg? Only if your alright with that, I just want to see how it’s doing.” Patton said as he walked back over to Virgil and leaned against the counter.

 Virgil’s eyes widened. Sure, Patton had been nice so far, but the thought of  _anyone’s_  giant fingers touching his leg… Virgil shook his head quickly. “I’d-” Virgil voice broke slightly with nerves, and he cleared his throat.  _You sound like an idiot_. “Let’s uh,  _not_  do that.”

 Patton smile faded for a moment, before coming back, softer this time. “Alright kiddo, maybe a little later.” He really did want to check on Virgil, but he also didn’t want to do anything Virgil didn’t want him to. He didn’t want to break the little trust he had. Even though if Virgil ever found out…Patton mentally shook his head.

 “What do you want to do then? Except go try and find your friend, like I said, I want you to rest for a bit first.” Patton reminded him.

 Virgil didn’t like the idea of Patton looking at his leg later. And he certainly didn’t like the way Patton avoided the activity of finding Roman. After all, the whole reason Virgil came back was to get Patton’s help. It didn’t matter if Patton was the nicest human in the whole world, he was still human and that made him dangerous.

 “Well, why can’t we work on finding him?” Virgil asked, a bit skeptic. “I’d feel guilty just sitting here, and we already ate.”

 “Um, well…” Patton bit his lip, not knowing what to say. In complete honesty he really  _didn’t_  want Virgil to go out with his leg like it was. Virgil  _needed_  rest…Patton had an idea.

 “Okay kiddo, we can search for him tonight on one condition. You let me check your leg and I have to decide if it’s okay enough for you to walk on. If not, we go and search for your friend tomorrow.”

 Virgil gulped. “My leg is fine.” Virgil lied. He slowly stood up, ignoring the pain and hiding a grimace as he put weight on it, trying to stand normally as opposed to leaning on the good leg. “See?”

 Patton winced, Virgil wasn’t doing a very good job at hiding his pain. “Virgil, please, you’re clearly in pain.” Patton wanted nothing more than to scoop him up to stop him from standing on it, but didn’t.

 “I know you care about your friend, I do too. But I also care about  _you_  and you clearly aren’t in any condition to go out and search. Please, just for tonight, rest and then tomorrow we can go out and search for your friend.” Patton begged him.

 Virgil found it strange to hear that Patton cared about him.  _Nobody cares about you_. No, that wasn’t true- Roman cared about Virgil. At least, Virgil hoped he did. But why would Patton care about Roman? He hadn’t even met Roman. Patton didn’t even know his  _name_.

 “I’m fine.” Virgil hugged his arms to his chest. “Please, I just… I can’t sit here and do  _nothing_.”

 “You aren’t doing  _nothing_ , your  _resting_. Saving your energy, getting better so you  _can_  go out and search for your friend.” Patton was just feeling so guilty, but only half the reason he wanted Virgil to stay and rest was because of Logan. He really did care about him getting better as well. 


	20. Ohana means famILY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton and Virgil watch a movie together before bed.

“How about we watch a movie! I’ll let you pick, anything you want.” Patton suggested, hoping a movie would distract Virgil enough from Roman.

 

“Mmmm.” Virgil made a noise to express his discomfort, pulling his poncho tighter to himself. There was truth to Patton’s words, but Virgil knew he had no chance of resting while Roman was still missing. He was in a constant state of restless anxiety. But, Patton was a human, and Virgil knew ultimately that meant Virgil could do nothing to change his mind.

 

Patton felt bad, but he did his best to ignore the noise Virgil made. “Right! Then to the living room we go!” Patton moved his hand so that it was resting palm up right in front of Virgil. Grabbing was off the table, but he could still offer him a ride.

 

Virgil backed up a few steps away from the palm, almost falling as he wobbled on his leg. “What’re you doing?” Virgil asked, although he had a pretty good idea.

 

“I’m offering you a ride kiddo.” Patton said, trying not to feel bad at the fear Virgil was showing him.

 

Virgil almost laughed at the idea of willingly putting himself in human hands. “I’d… rather not.” Virgil tried not to hurt Patton’s feelings. Weird, thinking about a human’s feelings. That was new. 

 

Patton tried not to look hurt. “But kiddo...I really don’t think you should climb-or even walk on your leg.” Patton tried. 

 

“Well…” Virgil bit his lip. Patton was right. But it still felt so  _ wrong  _ climbing willingly into a human’s hands. Of course, Virgil had come back to a human who had seen him, which was equally wrong. But this felt more personal and made Virgil’s stomach more uneasy than it already was. 

 

But what was Virgil gonna do, spend the night on the counter? Even standing still was agony, let alone moving. He needed to rest his ankle if it had any chance of recovery, and just the thought of walking all the way to the couch made his injury flame up. 

 

Patton smiled softly. “I promise you’ll be safe. I won’t close my hand and I won’t go too fast and I’ll put you down as soon as we get to the living room.”

 

Virgil hadn’t been worried about any of those things until Patton brought them up. He gave a little shudder, looking at Patton’s hand again. 

 

“I just…” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s hard to… y’know…” Virgil gestured to Patton’s hand. “I’ve been taught to, uh, stay away from humans, so it’s hard to just-” Virgil cringed. “-willingly go with… you. Nothing personal!” Virgil quickly added, not wanting to offend Patton or make him angry. “You’re great Patton, it’s just...hard.”

 

Patton bit his lip, wondering what to say. “I know, well, I mean, I guess I can’t  _ really _ know how your feeling. I’m not...well, your size after all.” Patton rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, his other hand was still on the counter not having moved an inch. “But I do know what it’s like for someone to ask you to do something that’s hard.” He was living through  _ that _ right now.

 

“I was only able to do it because I trusted the person. And I know that maybe you don’t trust me a whole lot.” Though, he had to trust him somewhat, he did come back to ask for help after all. “But I want to be someone who you  _ can _ trust. I just want to help, Virgil. So please, I know it’s hard, but...trust me?”

 

_ Trusting a human? Patton, you have no idea just how hard that’s gonna be for me.  _ Virgil thought to himself. Heck, sometimes he had trouble trusting Roman with all of his friend’s spontaneous and sometimes dangerous plans. 

 

Virgil made another unsure noise, but he had accepted that there was no way Patton would let him just walk to the living room. After all, Patton was human- he could just grab Virgil if he wanted. So, Virgil took a few steps towards Patton’s hand, arms clenched to his side. He could feel all of his muscles tensing. Even though Virgil had been out in the open all this time near Patton, this felt different. More deliberate, as if Virgil was specifically doing something wrong.

 

Patton found himself holding his breath as Virgil walked closer. He didn’t dare move or speak, not wanting to scare Virgil away. So, he simply watched, patiently waiting for Virgil to step on.

 

Virgil reached out a shaky hand, putting it onto Patton’s much, much larger hand. It was weird seeing them side by side, so alike and yet not at all. Deciding he didn’t like dwelling on how small he was in comparison to Patton, Virgil clambered up onto Patton’s palm. He sat cross-legged for balance, pulling his poncho up slightly to cover part of his face and hide a bit of his surroundings.  _ Everything’s fine. _

 

Patton stopped himself from squealing at how cute Virgil was. He figured that wouldn’t go down very well. Instead, he watched to make sure Virgil was all settled. When Virgil didn’t move, he took a deep breath.

 

“Alright, hang on kiddo.” He said and then a moment later he lifted his hand. He made sure he was slow, not wanting to make Virgil sick. He placed his hand next to his stomach and his free hand went under just in case. He then started to walk towards the living room.

 

Virgil’s hands shot out reflexively to his sides as Patton began to move. His mind began racing with anxious thoughts again.  _ Everything’s NOT fine I’m gonna die I’m gonna fall this was a horrible idea-  _ but Virgil forced himself to take a few deep breaths. He could do this. It wasn’t so bad really, when he didn’t think about the drop to the floor  _ oh god the drop _ \- no, breathe. Patton wasn’t gonna drop him… hopefully.

 

And thankfully, Patton didn’t. In fact, Virgil was surprised how short the trip ended up being with a human. 

 

Patton set him down on the arm of the couch as soon as he was able to. “See Virge. That wasn’t so bad right? And you did so well!” Patton was proud at how calm Virgil kept himself and that he actually did trust him enough to do it. It warmed Patton’s heart.

 

Virgil gave a small smile. Even though he really did basically nothing from Patton’s point of view, it felt good to be praised. Patton managed to make his words kind without being condescending. 

 

“Alright, now it’s time to pick a movie!” Patton grabbed the remote from off the coffee table and plopped himself onto the couch. He turned on Netflix and thought for a moment before going to the ‘Family’ category.

 

“Anything stand out to you kiddo?” Patton asked, motioning towards the extensive list of movies.

 

“Uh…” Virgil watched the many movie titles go by, none of them looking familiar. “Not really.” 

 

Patton hummed, looking through the movies himself. He stopped on one that caught his attention and grinned when he realized what it was. “Oh! This one’s perfect! How about Lilo and Stitch?” Patton asked, looking down at Virgil.

 

“I have no idea what those are.” Virgil shrugged, hoping Patton wouldn’t be upset. Roman was the one who took more interest in human movies and things. 

 

“Well don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll love it!” Patton exclaimed and then went ahead and pressed play on the movie. He got comfortable and watched as the movie began, however he glanced out of the corner of his eye to look at Virgil, to see how he was reacting to it.

Virgil tried to pay attention to the movie. He didn’t understand everything, but it looked to be about a blue fuzzy creature. And some other strange beings. No wait, now it was cutting to a human girl and her sister. 

 

Virgil kept watching, flinching when the blue fuzzy creature was hit by a truck. But later the creature was adopted as a pet by the humans. It seemed frightening to have something that destructive living in the house. Virgil could imagine how it would feel being a borrower in those walls. 

 

Patton couldn’t really make out Virgil’s expressions. But he might like it? Patton wasn’t sure. They got about halfway through the movie when Patton suddenly stood up. “Oh! Right, I almost forgot we were gonna have some cookies! You stay here and keep watching, I’ll be right back.” Patton told Virgil before going into the kitchen to put a plate together.

 

Virgil glanced back at where Patton had gone, then he glanced at the front door. It was weird how so much had changed in so little time. Now Virgil was more nervous to be out in the open when Patton wasn’t around, when usually being alone would be a relief. 

 

Patton came back with a plate full of chocolate chip cookies. He sat back down and broke off a piece of one to hand to Virgil.

 

“Uh, thanks.” Virgil said, taking the cookie piece and ducking his head shyly. He took a bite, surprised to find it so sweet and gooey. Whenever he got a cookie it was often a bit more burnt or crumbled as those were the cookies humans would leave behind.

 

“No problem!” Patton said and started eating his own cookie. They continued to watch the movie until the end credits played, when they did Patton turned the movie off and started to stretch. “Man, I haven’t seen that movie in forever! It was just as good as I remembered it. How did you like it?” Patton asked, directing the question at Virgil.

 

“It wasn’t bad.” Virgil said honestly. Virgil liked the story. Although he had seen snippets of movies before, that was his first time actually being able to watch a movie from beginning to end. It felt weird being out in the human apartment sitting still for so long, and Virgil even found himself yawning.

 

Patton took that to mean Virgil liked it and grinned at him. At the borrowers yawn, Patton couldn’t hold his own yawn back. He checked the time, seeing that it was close to 11pm. “I think it’s time we headed off to bed.” Patton said and then placed his hand palm up in front of Virgil like before.

 

“All aboard.” He joked.

 

Virgil found himself dreading getting on Patton’s hand less after the last experience was successful. Nonetheless, it took a few moments of hesitation before Virgil limped over to Patton, his leg giving him trouble again after getting a few hours to rest. He climbed on, getting back into his position from earlier and stifling another yawn. It was hard to be nervous of Patton when Virgil was so tired; and because Patton was, well,  _ Patton _ . 

 

Patton mimicked his movement from before and then walked into his room, closing the door behind him. He paused for a moment, wondering where on earth Virgil was going to sleep. He could set something up on the nightstand...he thought about a drawer but immediately disregarded  _ that _ idea. Patton hummed in thought, his eyes wandering towards his bed. It was pretty big, a king size actually. And he didn’t move a whole lot when he slept and usually stuck to one side anyway.

 

Patton walked over to the left side of the bed, the side that was usually empty and set Virgil down at the base of the pillow.

 

“Does this work? I know it might be a bit scary with me next to you, but I don’t move around in my sleep and the bed is plenty big enough.” Patton asked, talking up the bed option.

 

Virgil looked around, thrown off at the new location. His sleepy mind forgot that of course Patton wouldn’t take him to Virgil’s home, seeing as he didn’t know where exactly Virgil lived, but the thought of not sleeping in his own bed was worrying. Even worse, sleeping in a bed with a human? Sure, Patton  _ said  _ that he didn’t move around in his sleep, but how would he know that if he was asleep? And what if tonight was the one night when Patton suddenly shifted and crushed Virgil? 

 

Maybe Patton didn’t want to hurt Virgil intentionally, but that would do nothing to keep Virgil safe if Patton was unconscious. 

 

“I was, actually just… planning on sleeping in  _ my  _ bed.” Virgil said sheepishly. Although his ‘bed’ was nothing like Patton’s, more of a nest of blankets really. 

 

“But kiddo...your leg.” Patton didn’t know how far Virgil’s home was, but any distance wasn’t good for Virgil’s leg. “I thought it would be better for you to sleep here tonight.”

 

“Er…” Virgil looked around. He was exhausted; it had been a very tiring day for him. Not to mention, his sore muscles were telling him to just lay back into the soft pillow and drift off to sleep without a care in the world. 

 

“Just… be careful.” Virgil half-mumbled, closing his eyes and allowing himself to lay back into the fabric cloud. In the back of his mind Virgil knew he should be afraid and stay alert, but Virgil did not possess enough energy to care. 

 

“I will.” Patton said softly. He then quickly changed in his closet before slowly getting into bed. He tried his hardest to not move the bed, but he wasn’t sure if he exceeded or not. He settled down into bed, getting comfortable. He turned his head, giving Virgil a smile. 

 

“Goodnight Virgil.”

 

“‘Night, Patton.” Virgil gave a noise of acknowledgement, already partially asleep.

 

Patton reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. The room was engulfed in darkness and it didn’t take long for Patton to fall asleep.


	21. Spider(Ro)man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~Spider-Roman, Spider-Roman, does whatever a spider-Roman does~

 Though at first this began as an interesting teaching opportunity, the task of teaching Roman about his laptop quickly became tedious.

 “Roman, you just opened the paint tool.” Logan suppressed a sigh. “Again.”

 “Well, maybe I  _want_  to paint.” Roman said, but exited out of the program. “Is it this button?” Roman asks, pressing said button.

 “No, now you’ve opened the settings.” Logan glanced at the clock in the corner of the screen, realizing how late it had gotten. “Look, as thrilling as this has been watching you jump between the same four programs, I have homework that needs to be done. Which means I need my laptop back.”

 “What? But you did homework yesterday, I saw you.” Roman said, pouting.

 “Yes, and now I have more homework.” Logan explained. “It’s like regular work in that I have to do it every day.”

 Roman grumbled but then perked up. “Well, how about I help you with it! I’m sure it will be done faster with the both of us!”

 Logan raised an eyebrow. “Are you an expert in analytical chemistry?”

 “Um…” He had no idea what that was. “Yes?”

 “I don’t believe you.” Logan responded, moving Roman off the computer and back onto his leg.

 “Hey!” Roman exclaimed at being moved so suddenly. He crossed his arms with a huff. “Just because I don’t know what chemistry is doesn’t mean I can’t be good at it.” He grumbled.

 “But I didn’t ask if you were good at chemistry, I asked if you knew chemistry.” Logan began pulling up his chemistry lab report on his laptop. “And regardless, I don’t have the time nor the energy tonight to bring you up to speed on three years worth of chemistry knowledge.”

 “I don’t want to learn your stupid chemistry anyway.” Roman muttered and sat down to watch Logan work. After a few minutes though, Roman found that he was terribly  _bored_. He had no idea what was happening on the screen and pair that with Logan not saying anything and Roman just wanted out.

 He stood up, catching his balance on the strange surface before looking around to see what he could do. He could go exploring around Logan’s room, or…He look up at Logan who was focused on nothing but his work. Good.

 Roman gripped the folds of Logan’s shirt before starting to climb up. He was determined to get to the top.

 Logan looked down at a tugging sensation, only to see Roman climbing  _him_  just as he did the bookcase. It was certainly strange to watch Roman work, and Logan found himself tensing as he tried to stay still for Roman’s benefit. Despite his best efforts, If Logan looked carefully he could see Roman being swayed slightly as Logan’s chest rose and fell with his breathing.

 “Roman.” Logan said more quietly than normal, trying to not jostle the borrower too much. “What are you doing?”

 “I’m climbing.” Roman said as he pulled himself up onto Logan’s shoulder. He looked up a bit more and narrowed his eyes. If he jumped, he should be able to reach that strand of hair. So, he did.

 “Ow!” Logan tensed even further, his shoulders scrunching up towards his ears as an unpleasant sensation originated from the root of his hair as Roman tugged on it rather painfully.

 “Whoa!” Roman lost his grip as Logan suddenly moved and fell back down onto his shoulder. He would have fallen further but he gripped the fabric tight. Okay, so maybe trying to climb using Logan’s hair hadn’t been his  _best_  idea.

 Logan quickly but gently grabbed Roman off his shoulder, holding him in a loose fist in front of his face. “What was that for?”

 Roman squirmed, and just when he thought maybe Logan was done with all the grabbing. Of course that was just wishful thinking. “I’m bored and I’ve never tried to climb a human before.” Roman paused. “Sorry.” He muttered.

 Logan blinked. Sometimes Roman had some strange ideas. “Apology accepted.” He gave a small nod. “Although next time don’t pull my hair. And a warning would be a good idea, seeing as it could get dangerous if you were on my person and I didn’t know.” Logan internally cringed at the idea of Roman squirming and crawling all over him without his knowledge. Not to mention the many ways Roman could be seriously hurt in such an incident.

 Roman sighed, but nodded. “Alright.” He briefly wondered if Logan was going to put him down soon.

 “I’m serious, Roman.” Logan said sternly, now worried for Roman after thinking about the possibilities.

 “I said alright! Seriously, stop treating me like a child!” The way Logan had said that, it had just really rubbed Roman the wrong way. And it wasn’t the first time Logan had used that tone with him either. Or actually  _called_  him a child. He was getting tired of it.

 Logan’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “ I’m sorry Roman, I just wanted to make sure I got my point across. It just seems like you keep  _doing_  instead of  _thinking_  and I don’t want you to end up in a precarious scenario because of your active tendencies.”

 “Yeah, and I get that. That’s fine, I know that and I’m working on it. But that doesn’t mean you talk to me like a child who doesn’t understand.” Roman said. He knew he did things without really thinking sometimes. Virgil has pointed that out on multiple occasions and yes, he was working on it (sort of) but that was who he was. He wouldn’t be Roman if he didn’t run head first into a situation.

 “Oh.” Logan looked surprised for a moment. This was often how he spoke to Patton, so it was easy to forget that others would find his language and tone demeaning. “I’ll… try to avoid talking down to you.” Logan looked down at the borrower in his hand. “Figuratively speaking.”

 Roman blinked. That was…easier than he thought. “Thank you.” It was weird, Logan seemed to be listening to him more and more, and yet…Not about the thing that Roman truly wanted. In fact, he was sort of scared to bring it up anymore. The constant no’s and excuses were just weighing down on him.

 Logan nodded. “Well in the meantime, I should probably get back to work.” He put Roman down on the bed next to him, about a foot away.

 Roman caught his balance and was immediately bored again. He went to the edge of the bed and figured why not? “I’m gonna explore your room a bit.” Roman called out before starting to climb down the blanket that was hanging off the bed.

 Logan glanced over. “Alright, just…” Logan paused, trying to keep his tone less condescending this time. “…please respond this time when I call your name. It’s just annoying at this point to go searching for you since we both… know what happens anyways.”

 Roman paused in his climbing, Logan’s words sending a shiver down his spine. “…Fine.” Roman responded, before finishing his climb down to the ground.

 He started to walk toward the desk, he was wondering if he could climb up that without a hook or not when he spotted something  _moving_  underneath. He froze and his first thought was that it was another borrower. But that wasn’t possible, what with all the exits blocked off, and a closer look showed that the creature was a tad bit smaller, with a lot more legs. A spider.

 Roman grinned. It had been a while since he had fought off a spider. Or anything for that matter. So without thinking, he ran toward it. The spider noticed him approaching and turned to face him, hissing. Roman smirked and reached for his pin…only to realize he didn’t have it. Right. He had left it at home the other day, he hadn’t been looking for a fight that day and figured if he happened to stumble upon one he could fend it off with his hook. But right now, he had neither.

 He was really starting to get what Logan and Virgil were talking about.

 He started to back away slowly, but the spider took a few steps forward in response. Spiders were quick, there was no way he could outrun it. He really only had one option. Fight.

 Roman balled his fists and watched as the spider bent down. He knew what was coming, but was still not prepared for the spider to launch itself at him. He yelped and groaned as the spider landed on top of him, pushing him to the ground. It tried to bite at his face, but Roman was just barely able to hold it back. But he wouldn’t be able to for long.

 Not having any other option, Roman yelled. “Logan!”

 Logan looked up quickly at what sounded like a panicked yell from Roman. Scanning the room, he spotted the borrower on the floor by the desk, with what appeared to be a spider wrestling him to the ground. Logan jumped up, rushing over. As he got closer and identified the spider breed, Logan’s concern skyrocketed.

 As Roman felt Logan approach, the spider seemed to stop for a moment, before getting off of Roman and trying to run away from the incoming human.

 Logan stepped on the spider before it could get away, grinding the ball of his shoe further into the floor to make sure it was really dead.

 Roman sat up just in time to see Logan’s shoe come down on top of the spider and he flinched back with a wince. He stared wide eyed as Logan continued to grind his shoe into the floor and for just a moment Roman imagined himself in the spiders place. He shivered. He was glad the spider was gone, but some part of him still felt bad for the thing.

 Logan stepped back, checking that the spider was truly gone before crouching down to look at Roman. “Are you alright?” Logan asked, fearing the answer. That spider was poisonous, and at Roman’s size… well, a bite would be deadly.

 “Um, yeah, I-I think so.” Roman stuttered. He was still shaken by both the spider attack and how Logan had killed it.

 “You  _think_?” Logan carefully picked Roman up in both hands, cradling Roman as he assessed him for injuries. “Roman, that was a  _black widow_. A poisonous house spider found in Floridian houses. If it bit you-” Logan trailed off, not wanting to explain and instead focusing on looking for any bite marks.

 Roman’s eyes widened at this new piece of information. It was a very good thing he had called for Logan’s help then. “It-It didn’t bite me, I’m okay.” Roman said.

 “Are you  _sure_  you’re okay?” Logan asked, in his panic completely forgetting his promise to treat Roman less like a child.

 Roman was still too shaken up to notice the tone Logan had used. “Yes, physically yes, I’m fine, I’m sure.” Roman said dusting himself off of any spider left on him. He felt so dirty all of a sudden. It was probably going to be a while before he could face a spider again.

 “Physically?” Logan raised an eyebrow, watching Roman brush himself off.

 Roman shifted into a more comfortable sitting position and winced at Logan’s question. Why had he said physically? Why hadn’t he just said he was fine? Now if he didn’t answer Logan would think something was wrong.

 “Well, I mean, finding out the spider was poisonous kind of made me realize how close I was to dying. And uh…” Roman looked down. “The…way the spider was killed wasn’t the most pleasant thing to watch.” Roman said quietly, half hoping Logan wouldn’t even hear him.

 “…oh.” Logan glanced uncomfortably at the slight stain of a spider on the carpet, only now realizing how Roman’s perspective of that event was  _very_ different than his own. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, I, I’m sorry you had to witness that.” Logan said. “I just wanted to make sure it didn’t come back.”

 “No yeah, of course. I understand  _why_  it just…yeah. And thank you, for um…saving me.” Roman said awkwardly, still not looking Logan in the eye.

 Logan nodded. He glanced briefly under the desk, wondering if there was a nest of spiders somewhere. The thought made him paranoid, and certainly less willing to let Roman go exploring. The thought of threats like spiders in his bedroom hadn’t even crossed Logan’s mind.

 “Well I for one think that’s enough excitement for tonight.” Logan stood up.

 “I…have to agree with you on that.” Roman was done. With life…at least for tonight.

 Logan turned to the desk, putting Roman down in the box bed from the night before.

 Roman blinked at suddenly being put down and looked at his surroundings. Oh, right. He  _had_  slept in a box last night. He had been too tired the night before to argue against it, but not tonight.

 “Not that this isn’t… _great_ , but can I sleep somewhere else?” Roman asked. But he was preparing for an argument.

 “What do you mean?” Logan looked around the room. “Where else would you go?”

 “I-I don’t know. But anywhere where I’m not trapped would be better than this.”

 Logan figured the box would provide more safety from the outside, but given that spiders could climb he could understand Roman’s unease.

 “What about a drawer?” Logan asked, picking Roman back up.

 Roman’s eyes widened and he struggled against the grip. “No! Definitely not, did you not hear what I  _just_  said!” Roman was starting to think Logan only heard what he wanted to.

 “Well I figured it would be safest!” Logan argued. “And you aren’t giving any suggestions.”

 “Then what about, um, on the nightstand!” He said pointing over to the table near the bed. “Just give me a blanket and I’m all good.”

 “What if another spider comes after you?” Logan pointed out. “Then you’re also stranded on the nightstand with no quick escape route.”

 “The spider didn’t even come after me, I ran towards it and-” Roman cut himself off when he realized what he just said. He groaned, he really did have a big mouth. “I mean, um…” Yeah, there was no coming back from that.

 Logan froze for a moment in shock. “Why?!” He said exasperatedly. “Why would you do that? Do you know how incredibly dumb that was? I cannot think of a single good reason to run towards an  _imminent_  threat.”

 Roman grit his teeth. “I do it all the time. It was just different today because I forgot I didn’t have my pin or hook on me…” Roman tried defending himself, but really, he wasn’t doing a great job.

 “Your what?” Logan tilted his head confused and still a bit annoyed at Roman’s apparent death wish.

 “My pin and hook? I use the hook to climb and the pin was something I borrowed back home, I use it to fight with. I use the hook to fight if I don’t have my pin.” Roman explained.

 “Oh, so makeshift weapons.” Logan was glad to hear that Roman did occasionally possess some means of defending himself. Logan also realized that if Roman had had his hook or pin, they would have certainly been used on Logan. “Well we can get you a new pin or hook. It would be a safe idea to make sure you have something at least as a last resort in case of emergencies.”

 “I mean…that would be nice.” Roman said. And he already had something in mind to test it out on when he got it. Or, rather,  _someone_.

 “I don’t think I would have anything of the sort lying around the apartment though, so we’ll save that for tomorrow.” Logan sifted briefly through one of his desk drawers. “In the meantime, are you quite sure you provoked the spider? It wasn’t searching for you?”

 “No, it didn’t even notice me until I was a foot away from it.” Roman reluctantly answered.

 “…” Logan looked at the nightstand, trying to make up his mind. It felt so exposed and unsafe. He pulled the blanket out of the bed box, walking over to it. Logan set Roman down on the bed as he prepped the blanket on the nightstand. Satisfied with his work, Logan picked up Roman and plopped him down on the soft surface.

 “Well?” Logan asked. “Is this satisfactory to you?”

 He could do without the manhandling, but, as Roman looked around, the nightstand actually wasn’t bad. Better than the box at least. And the blanket was enough that the he couldn’t feel the hard wood of the nightstand.

 “Yeah, actually. This’ll work.”

 “…fine then.” Logan let out a slight sigh. “I think this is a terrible idea, but it’s not my bed.”

 “No, it isn’t.” Roman agreed. “And I happen to like this arrangement.”

 Logan just rolled his eyes. He gathered up his pajamas, heading into the bathroom to get himself ready for bed. Coming back a few minutes later, Logan put his laptop away with the intention of doing more tomorrow.

 “Goodnight, Roman.” Logan said, still a bit salty. He climbed into bed, reaching an arm over Roman to turn off the bedside lamp.

 Roman ignored the way Logan’s hand casted a shadow over him as he wrapped himself up in the blanket and got comfortable. “Night Logan.” Roman said and closed his eyes. He hadn’t realized how tired he actually was, but the second darkness surrounded them and his eyes were fully shut, he was fast asleep.

 Logan, meanwhile, sat wide awake in the darkness, staring over at the nightstand. He was a bit paranoid with this sleeping arrangement, especially after the spider incident. Logan allowed it because he wanted Roman to trust him. But Logan knew he wouldn’t sleep soundly with Roman just laying out in the open like that. In fact, Logan found it very likely that he wouldn’t sleep at all.

 Logan sighed, shifting a bit as he sent another glance Roman’s way. It was gonna be a long night.


	22. Friends Don't Kill Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan acts a bit strange before Roman and him begin to work out their differences.

 Roman woke up the next morning feeling sort of off, but decided to push the feeling down as he opened his eyes. He found brown, cardboard walls surrounding him and his mood immediately soured. Logan must have moved him in the middle of the night. Not only was that just rude, but that meant Logan had moved him while he had been asleep, without his knowledge. That was not a comforting thought.

 “Logan!” He called out, he appeared to still be on the nightstand, so hopefully Logan would be able to hear him this time.

 “Roman.” Logan said in greeting, and grabbed Roman out of the box.

 “Seriously?” Roman exclaimed, squirming in the grip. He huffed. “What’s the big idea with putting me in the box in the middle of the night?” Roman questioned.

 “Where’s Virgil?” Logan asked, ignoring Roman’s question.

 Roman’s eyes widened in shock. “Wh-What?” Roman must have heard wrong, there’s no way Logan actually asked about  _Virgil_. He didn’t even know his name!

 “Virgil, your borrower friend.” Logan continued, tightening his grip on Roman ever so slightly. “Where does he live?”

 “H-How…No, no I’m not telling you!” Roman yelled and started struggling more against the grip. His sides were starting to hurt from how tight Logan was holding him, but he still tried his best to push his way out.

 “Roman, you know it’s only a matter of time before I find him.” Logan squeezed harder. “Stop making this harder than it has to be.”

 “Agh!” Roman yelled as the grip got even  _tighter_. He couldn’t even move anymore. “W-Why…” He forced out. Why was Logan doing this?

 Logan paused, seeming to have a change of heart. He held Roman in cupped hands, slowly lowering Roman to the ground. “I’m sorry, Roman.”

 Roman gulped air into his lungs when Logan let him go. And was equal amounts of confused and terrified when Logan set him down on the ground. “You-you  _should_  be! What the heck was that?!” Was Logan finally showing his true colors?

 Logan raised his shoe to hover over Roman’s head. “This is for your own good.” Logan said, before dropping his foot and crushing him.

 Roman gasped loudly as his eyes flung open and he sat up. His breaths came out in short spurts and his vision was blurry with tears. He was confused, dazed, was he dead? He had to be, Logan had crushed him right? His chest tightened even more.

 “Roman?” Logan asked aloud, squinting in the darkness after hearing motion on the nightstand. “Are you alright?”

 At the sound of Logan’s voice, he screamed, diving into the blanket to try and put  _something_  between himself and the human. He shook badly and his mind was still stuck in a limbo between dreams and reality.

 Logan sat up quickly, reaching over to turn on the bedside lamp. He grabbed his glasses, blinking as his eyes adjusted. “Roman?” Logan repeated, panicked when the borrower was not in sight. “Where are you?” He reached over to the blanket, sifting it gently to try and find Roman. He  _knew_  the nightstand had been a bad idea!

 As the blankets around him started to move and he could see giant fingers, he started to panic even more. “No! Stop, I-I don’t-I don’t wanna-” His panic was making it hard to get the words out.

 Logan’s fingers found Roman’s cowering form underneath the covers. Logan grabbed Roman and the blanket, bringing the whole bundle back to his lap where he untangled Roman from the mess.

 “Roman, what’s wrong?” Logan asked, lifting Roman up in one palm as he tossed the blanket to the side with the other. It didn’t look as though Roman was hurt, but it was still fairly dark.

 “No! I-I’m not telling you where-where Virgil is! Go ahead and-and-and  _crush_  me for all I care, just-just  _please_ …” Roman trailed off into a mess of sobs.

 Logan’s eyes widened at the mention of the other borrower. The one Logan wasn’t supposed to know about. Logan began to get an inkling of what was going on. “Roman, hey, calm down.” Logan said softly. “You were dreaming.”

 Dreaming? Nightmare was more like it, but the word finally pulled Roman into reality. Still, it took him several long moments to calm down. But eventually he stopped crying and his breathing returned to normal. “R-Right, dreaming…” It had felt  _so_  real though.

 Logan knew he didn’t want to know, but his inquisitive personality wanted the full answer. So, with great hesitation, Logan asked, “What were you dreaming about?”

 Roman tensed. He really didn’t feel like reliving the nightmare. “N-Nothing…” Roman spoke quietly and it was in that moment he realized what he had said before. His eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything. Hoping Logan hadn’t been able to understand him and he didn’t hear Virgil’s name.

 Logan watched Roman’s reactions carefully. “Roman, it can’t be ‘nothing’ if you’re this visibly shaken.”

 “It  _was_  nothing, now can you  _please_  put me down. I-I want to be put down. Wait! I mean, on the nightstand, don’t-don’t put me on the ground!” That was the last place he wanted to be.

 “Roman, why would I put you on the ground?” Logan asked, sensing it might have something to do with Roman’s dream.

 Roman shook as his nightmare came to the forefront of his mind. “I just-I just  _don’t_  want to be on the ground, okay? I’d rather not be-” He cut himself off, but the sentence finished in his mind. He’d rather not be crushed like the spider. Roman squirmed in the hand. “Just please put me back on the nightstand.”

 “Alright.” Logan said. “Just as soon as you tell me what happened.” Logan knew that dreams are often a message of the subconscious, and if Roman could open up about what exactly happened maybe Logan could figure out how to fix everything just like he promised Patton.

 “Or what, you’ll crush me?” Came out of Roman’s mouth before he even realized what he was saying. His hand flung to his mouth and he once again cursed his big mouth. He turned his head away from Logan.

 Logan’s eyes widened. He held Roman as far away from himself as possible. “No!” Was  _that_  what happened in Roman’s dream? But why… of course, the stupid spider. Roman’s subconscious must have put Roman in the spider’s place to relive the traumatic incident.

 Roman continued to not meet Logan’s eyes. Instead, he stared at the wall with a far away look in his eye. “…You said it was for my own good.” Roman murmured. “Just because I wouldn’t tell you something…”

 … _oh_. Logan began to piece together Roman’s dream. His own words and actions were present, and Logan felt incredibly guilty. Is this how Roman still viewed him? Logan was trying so hard to make things better, yet Roman still saw Logan as the evil human threatening him and his friend.

 Of course he would, seeing as Logan was still keeping him basically captive. Options or not, the way Roman saw things he was being held against his will with no way out. Logan was blackmailing him into staying, which in reality was no choice at all.

 And then Logan had made Patton help him, despite Patton not wanting to lie. Logan was actively keeping Roman from Virgil now. Roman was clearly worried about Virgil, so Logan could only imagine the concern Virgil was feeling with Roman missing for several days.

 “Roman…” Logan said quietly, not sure what he could possibly say.

 Roman finally glanced back at Logan, meeting his eyes.

 “I’m never going to…” Logan sighed, bringing Roman a bit closer. “Roman, I don’t want to  _hurt_  you.”

 “You say that now.” Roman said. “I-I don’t  _think_  you will, but…” Roman sighed and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand.

 “…I understand.” Logan looked away. The size difference between the borrower and the human would most likely always make Roman’s brain register Logan as a threat. Not to mention, even if Roman managed to override such behavior, it would take time. Time Logan didn’t have. Although Logan hated to admit it, changes like this did not happen overnight.

 Roman was silent for a moment, thinking. “You didn’t…hear what I said before, did you? When I first woke up?” Roman had to make sure, he had to know how much he messed up.

 “You mean when you mentioned Virgil?” Logan asked, figuring it would be best to get it out in the open.

 Roman groaned. “Yeah…that.” He took a deep breath. “Would you believe me if I told you that my mind just made him up and he isn’t real?” Roman tried.

 “Sorry, no.” Logan gave a small smile. “Is he the friend in the building that you kept avoiding talking about?”

 “…Yeah.” Roman reluctantly answered. He was sure Logan could feel how tense he was.

 Logan pushed up his glasses. “If it makes you feel better, know that I won’t ask you any more about him.”

 “Really? I mean…thanks.” Roman’s eyes glanced quickly towards the clock in the room and winced. “Sorry, for uh, waking you up so late.”

 “It’s fine.” Logan shrugged. “I wasn’t asleep, actually.”

 “Huh? Oh, did you have more homework to finish?” Roman asked.

 Logan supposed that would have been a better use of his time. “Well, no.” Logan admitted, looking a bit sheepish. “I was so worried about you sleeping on the nightstand that I couldn’t sleep.”

 “Oh.” A lot of thoughts ran through Roman’s mind and he was trying to decide if he should voice them or not. “Ya know, I used to think you were just pretending to care. An excuse just to justify yourself in keeping me. But now…” Roman shook his head and met Logan’s gaze.

 “I’m just wondering  _why_  you care so much.”

 “I’m not sure what you mean.” Logan’s eyebrows furrowed.

 “I mean, like, why do you care  _at all_  about me. I mean, any other human keeping me captive wouldn’t have gone through the trouble to show me their phone, laptop, let me decide what to do. Heck, they might have not even given me food. I would have been a thing to them.” Roman paused for a moment, he wasn’t even sure where all this was coming from, but apparently his subconscious had been busy.

 “But you…you’re still not perfect. More than once I’ve felt more like a glorified pet than a person around you,  _but_  you could have very well put me in a cage and be done with it. Shown me to the world, experimented on me, whatever. But you didn’t. And I…I don’t know  _why_.”

 Logan was surprised at how low Roman had set the bar for human decency. “Roman, of course I wouldn’t do those things. It would be incredibly inhumane for me to do anything like that. Despite your smaller stature you are no less of a person. Honestly, I believe I’ve been doing the bare minimum of what should be expected, if that.”

 “Well, yeah. But I’ve already told you how cruel humans can be. All the stories I’ve heard. I expected to die when you caught me. And any other human probably would have confirmed those fears. Or would have kept me as some kind of pet.” Roman sighed.

 “Not a lot of humans would see us as  _people_. You certainly didn’t start out that way.”

 Logan winced, knowing Roman was correct. “My apologies.”

 “I mean, you don’t feel that way now. Although you do have some trouble expressing that.” Roman murmured before shaking his head. “I’m just trying to say, it’s not normal for a human to care about a borrower like you’ve shown.” Roman finished.

 “Well it’s not normal for a human to even know about a borrower’s existence.” Logan pointed out. “Hardly any of this could be considered ‘normal’. I certainly can’t find an explanation for my care.” No, actually, Logan could explain, he reasoned to himself. In the beginning Logan cared for Roman’s well being so much because he was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for knowledge. But now…

 “Perhaps it is just the care one has… for their friends.” Logan reasoned. Good lord he sounded cheesy.

 Roman’s eyes widened. For all the time they’ve spent together, Roman never even considered the fact-that it would even be  _possible_ for the two of them to become friends. Both because Logan was a human and because he was being kept here, but now, talking with him at 3 in the morning, Roman felt like he was gaining a new understanding.

 Like, maybe being friends with Logan could actually work.

 “Yeah, maybe it is.” Roman said, smiling a bit.

 Logan returned Roman’s smile. Perhaps Logan was making progress, after all.

 “Well in any case, since clearly I care about your well being, I think it would be in our best interest if we went back to sleep.” Logan suggested.

 “Agreed.” Roman was sure, after their talk, the nightmares wouldn’t be coming back. At the very least, not tonight.

 Logan put the blanket on the nightstand, folding it up before setting Roman in the middle. He put his glasses down on the surface as well before turning the bedside lamp off. Logan tucked himself in, laying down on his side to face the nightstand once more. “Goodnight, Roman.”

 “Night, Logan.” Roman laid there for a few minutes before saying. “You can go to sleep too you know.”

 Logan felt a light blush creep up onto his face and was suddenly thankful for the darkness. “I know!” Logan said indignantly. There was a pause. “…I’ll try.” Logan eventually admitted, although he still doubted he would get much sleep tonight.


	23. This guilt is killing me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rough night, Patton checks out Virgil's leg.

Patton woke up the next morning, stretching in bed and turning onto his side in the direction Virgil was sleeping.

 “Good morning Virg-Virgil?” Patton cut himself off and blinked with wide eyes when he realized Virgil was not there. Patton sat up in bed, suddenly on high alert. Where was Virgil? Had he gone looking for Roman? But, there was no way he should have been able to even get off the bed, not on his injured leg.

 Patton threw himself out of bed, but was weary of the floor below him. When he saw nothing, he walked out into the living room. His eyes landed on top of the coffee table and he sighed with relief when he saw Virgil standing there.

 “Virgil! There you are!” Patton raced forward and kneeled down. “What are you doing out here?”

 At the sound of Patton’s voice, Virgil turned to him with terrified eyes like a deer in headlights. Instinctively, Virgil bolted in the opposite direction, unhindered by injury.

 Patton’s eyes widened. “Wha-?! Kiddo?!” He cried. And then, without him wanting to, his hand reached out and grasped around Virgil’s body. His hand brought Virgil up to his face and Patton’s eyes got even wider when he realized his hand did that on its own accord.

 “V-Virgil?” Was all Patton could stammer out.

 Virgil screamed, struggling in Patton’s grip. “L-let me go!” Virgil winced. “Get away from me!”

 Patton desperately wanted to put him down, but found he was unable. “Kiddo, what..what happened? Did I-did I do something wrong?”

 “You LIED!” Virgil glared up at Patton, breaths becoming a bit uneven with how tightly Patton was holding him. “You knew where Roman was, you just lied so Logan could keep him!” Tears collected in Virgil’s eyes. “Now you just want to keep me, too.”

 Patton felt tears prick the corners of his own eyes. “I…I…” He didn’t know what to say. He briefly thought what Logan had said to say, but Patton couldn’t throw his friend under the bus like that.

 “I’m…sorry Virgil, I-I didn’t…I mean…I…” Patton continued to stutter, not knowing how to respond.

 Virgil ducked his head in defeat. “Why…” Virgil struggled to breathe in, pushing vainly against the fingers acting as his prison. “didn’t… you…. tell me?”

 “I…Logan, he, I mean…”  _Why_  couldn’t Patton speak properly? Instead of trying to talk again, he focused on trying to set Virgil down, but his hand wouldn’t budge. In fact, Patton could feel his grip tighten even  _more_.

 Virgil looked as though he wanted to say more, but his eyes went wide with a new form of terror. He fought against Patton’s hand with renewed vigor for a minute, face turning blue. His efforts gradually died out, before Virgil’s form flopped to the side, unconscious.

 Patton’s breath hitched. “V-Virgil?” He finally managed to take control of his hand as he flung it open. Virgil slumped onto his palm like dead weight, making Patton’s heartbeat quicken.

 “No…No, please no.” Patton gently placed a finger on Virgil’s chest, hoping,  _praying_  to feel  _something_. Several long moments passed.

 Nothing.

 Patton gasped out a sob and tears started flowing freely down his cheeks. He…He  _killed_  him. He-Virgil was-

 Patton woke up, a sob escaping his lips. His eyes were blurry with tears, but he recognized that he was back in his room. The light was shining in and Patton knew it had been a nightmare, but the tears continued to fall. Just, the very thought of Patton  _killing_  Virgil. The very thought that Virgil had felt betrayed by Patton. It was almost too much.

 Virgil yawned, a loud noise to his side waking him up. The sound was much too close, causing Virgil to panic before opening his eyes and slowly remembering all that had occurred yesterday. Yes, he was next to a human, but once he remembered which human, Virgil wasn’t as scared. It was just Patton; he could trust Patton.

 Looking up, Virgil realized that Patton was the source of the noise. It seemed the human was… crying?

 “Patton?” Virgil spoke up, concerned. Would Patton be mad that Virgil saw him crying?

 Patton’s breath hitched when he heard Virgil’s voice and he quickly wiped at his eyes. Of course, he should have expected that his crying would wake Virgil up. He tried putting on a smile as he sat up and turned to Virgil, but his eyes were still red and puffy and the smile probably came out as more of a grimace than anything. He quickly realized his vision was blurry and reached over towards the nightstand to put on his glasses.

 “Virgil! G-Good morning.” Patton greeted. It helped Patton calm down, seeing Virgil alive and not filled with terror.

 Virgil ducked instinctively as Patton’s arm approached, but the shadow merely passed over his head while Patton grabbed his glasses from the nightstand. Virgil sat up, feeling a bit dumb about his reaction.

 “Patton, why…” Virgil paused, not sure if it was his place to ask. He decided to switch questions. “Are you okay?”

 Patton nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry for waking you kiddo, I just, uh, had a bad dream. But it’s all good now! You don’t have to worry!” But Patton knew it wasn’t all good now. His nightmare made him realize just how bad lying to Virgil about all this was. He couldn’t keep it up, not if he wanted to keep Virgil’s trust.

 “I’m gonna hop into the bathroom to get ready real quick, be right back!” Patton jumped up and practically ran into the bathroom after grabbing some clothes.

 Virgil blinked, surprised and a bit startled by Patton’s actions. Something was  _definitely_  wrong with Patton, but what could Virgil do about it? If Patton didn’t want to tell, it was none of Virgil’s business. Besides, even if he wanted to there was nothing a borrower could do to force a human to talk. Virgil would just risk making Patton mad, something he would like to avoid out of survival instinct. A mad human would be even more dangerous than a regular human.

 Of course, Patton was proving to be anything except dangerous. But what if Patton was cruel and that’s what he was hiding? But why would Patton cry about his own cruelty? What?

 Patton shut the door to the bathroom and sighed. He got dressed before taking out his phone and sending a text to Logan.  _I can’t do it anymore. We need to tell Virgil and Roman_. He put his phone away after that and then returned to the room once he was sure his face was clear of any puffiness.

 “Alright! Ready to start the day?” Patton exclaimed, standing over the bed.

 Virgil nodded, looking up at Patton a bit warily.

 “Great!” Patton was half way to lowering his hand for Virgil to climb on before hesitating. His nightmare came back to him and what had happened once Virgil was in his hands. He shuddered, but finished placing his hand on the bed. That wasn’t going to happen, this wasn’t his nightmare, he had full control over his actions here.

 Virgil went to stand, but gasped as his injured leg gave out from under him unexpectedly. He lost his balance, tumbling down the pillow.

 “Whoa!” Patton’s hand flung forward, catching Virgil at the bottom of the pillow. Patton slowly raised his hand up so Virgil was at eye level.

 “Are you okay? Is your leg still hurting?”

 Virgil tried not to freak out as he found himself in human hands yet again, so early in the morning. Instead, he focused more on the pain flaring up in his limb.

 “Y-yeah.” Virgil admitted with a grimace, not wanting to lie.

 Patton hummed with concern, before slowly starting to walk towards the bathroom. “Virgil, I know you’re still scared, but…will you please let me help you with your leg? I need to check it and change the bandages over. If you want, you can change the bandages yourself, but I  _really_  need to check your leg.”

 “Why?” Virgil asked, cradling his leg. He was nervous about a human touching his leg, but maybe if Patton only  _looked_  at it… “Are you a healer?”

 “Well…no. But I’m pretty sure I can tell, at the very least I can look it up on the internet.” Patton admitted. He carefully set Virgil down on the bathroom counter.

 “The what?” Virgil frowned in confusion, feeling the cold counter beneath him. Strange, he almost missed the warm feeling of Patton’s hands instead. Weird.

 “Huh? Oh! It’s just a thing that allows you to look up information. And watch videos. And connect with friends…um, it does a lot of stuff.” Patton tried to explain, shrugging when it kind of fell flat. “I can show you later if you want.”

 “Sure.” Virgil shrugged, not really getting a clear picture but understanding that it was important.

 “So, will you let me check your leg?” Patton asked again.

 Virgil felt the bandages, running his fingertips along the edges. “…no touching, just looking?” Virgil asked for clarification.

 Patton smiled softly. “Just looking, I promise.”

 With Patton’s promise, Virgil began to tug the bandages off. It took more effort than he had expected and he needed both hands. But, slowly the bandages began to peel away, revealing the bruised skin underneath.

 Virgil felt a slight blush creep up onto his face. It was weird doing this with Patton watching. It made him feel vulnerable and exposed.

 “There, happy?” Virgil muttered loudly, pulling the bandages off.

 Patton hummed, but was concentrating on looking over Virgil’s leg. The bruises were still visible, but Patton was happy to see that it was less so.

 “It looks like it’s getting better, slowly but surely.” Patton took out the first aid kit and took out the things Virgil would need like the day before. Though this time he set them down a bit closer to Virgil, so he wouldn’t have to move to grab it.

 Virgil took the supplies, fumbling to repeat the motions of yesterday. Once the bandages were fairly secure, Virgil tried to stand to show he had finished.

 “How does it feel?” Patton asked, looking over Virgil and his leg as he stood up.

 “Terrible.” Virgil said, still standing despite the pain.

 Patton frowned and thought for a moment. “I wonder if it would be okay to give you some Aleve…” He opened the mirror cabinet and took out a bottle of pills, taking one out of it. He stared at it with confusion.

 “It would help with the pain…but I don’t want to give you too much.”

 “What is that?” Virgil asked, trying to see what was in Patton’s hands. Would it hurt? Would it put him to sleep? But he couldn’t sleep now, Roman still needed him. Virgil took a step back.

 Patton noticed Virgil’s caution and was quick to reassure him. “Oh, don’t worry, it wouldn’t hurt you or anything. I mean, if I can get the right amount it won’t…” Patton thought it over some more before sighing. He put the pill back. “On second thought, I don’t want to risk it. Sorry kiddo, I really wish I could do more.”

 “You can help me find my friend.” Virgil reminded him, his tone hopeful. “I’ll be fine, really. It hurts, but bor- I mean, I heal pretty fast.”  _Oh wow you almost said borrowers wow are you TRYING to ruin everything and break all the rules_?  _Roman would be so disappointed_.

 “Well…We can go out to find your friend  _after_  we get some food in us. Can’t go searching on an empty stomach, right?” Patton said. He needed to delay the search for as long as possible. He wanted to see if Logan would text him first. Patton laid his hand down, waiting patiently for Virgil to step on.

 “Okay.” Virgil agreed more readily than he normally would, mainly out of relief that his slip-up went unnoticed. He climbed up onto Patton’s palm.


	24. Syrup, Slander and Sobbing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Patton makes breakfast, he lets a few secrets slip.

Patton walked into the kitchen, setting Virgil down on the counter before looking in his cupboards. “How does pancakes sound to you?” The human asked, already getting everything out and ready to make it.

 “I don’t know what that means.” Virgil looked a bit sheepish, feeling embarrassed.

 Patton blinked and slowly turned towards Virgil. “Oh, you poor thing.” With newfound determination, Patton started on the pancakes.

 “Don’t worry kiddo, you are going to  _love_  these!”

 “Okay.” Virgil couldn’t help but smile. Patton’s positive attitude was infectious. Which made Virgil once again wonder where that positive attitude had gone this morning when he woke to find Patton in tears…

 Virgil walked over to the edge of the counter away from Patton’s work space, sitting down.

 Patton started with making two regular pancakes for himself and then decided to try making one that was more Virgil’s size. Tongue sticking out, he carefully poured only a few drops of the batter onto the pan. And the went ahead and did it again. It was surprisingly hard to flip the both of them, but he managed and he then set them down on a little saucer he had. Happy with his work, he placed the saucer next to Virgil.

 “There we-oh wait!” Patton reached into the pantry and grabbed the bottle of syrup. The most important part of this breakfast in Patton’s opinion. He squirted a drop onto Virgil’s pancakes before practically drowning his own.

 “There we go! Dig in!”

 Virgil looked at the sticky mess on the plate before him, trying to decide how to do this. He grabbed a more dry bit of the pancake his size and lifted it, taking a bite. His mouth flooded with a warm, sweet taste even as some excess syrup dripped onto his poncho.

 “Thanks.” Virgil remembered his manners once he reached the second pancake.

 “Aww, you’re welcome kiddo!” Patton finished off his pancakes before taking out his phone to check it. Patton frowned when he saw there were no messages. He typed out another one,  _Logan, please, I can’t keep this up_ , before sending it.

 “You want any more kiddo?” Patton asked when he saw Virgil was basically done.

 “I’m full.” Virgil frowned down at his poncho, trying to clean up the syrup and only managing to spread it to his hands. “But do you have something I could use to wash this stuff off?”

 “Oh, right.” Patton chuckled, he had forgotten Virgil had to eat with his hands. Probably not a bright idea to put syrup on it. Oh well. Patton grabbed a wipe from under the sink and handed it to Virgil, it would be a lot more efficient than a napkin.

 “There you go!”

 Virgil nodded in thanks, grabbing the wipe and cleaning off himself to the best of his ability. The poncho still held a slight sticky feeling and smelled strongly of sugar, but his poncho had smelled like worse things before.

 “Is it time to go now?” Virgil asked, getting antsy. He had been resting for far, far too long. His anxious feelings began to rush back as Virgil thought of Roman and all the awful situations Roman must be facing right about now.

 Patton frowned. He couldn’t keep putting the search off, Virgil would suspect something. And Patton  _would_  tell him the truth, but-Patton checked his phone real quick-Logan still hadn’t texted him back. He sighed, there was no way around it then. He would have to go out and search if only to stall Virgil a bit longer until Logan texted him back.

 “Yep!” Patton exclaimed, putting on a smile. “I was thinking we would do this by going door to door. I can usually tell if people are hiding something and if someone is than it’s most likely Roman.” Patton explained.

 Virgil’s eyes widened. “R-Roman?” Virgil couldn’t believe his ears.  _How did Patton know Roman’s name?_

 Patton looked at him with confusion. “Yeah, Roman. Your friend?”

 Virgil was immediately on edge, taking a cautious step backwards and feeling his muscles tense. “Patton, how do you know his name?” Virgil asked slowly, already fearing the answer. Virgil knew he didn’t tell Patton; he would never. Even just hearing Patton say Roman’s name felt  _wrong_.

 Patton’s eyes widened when he finally realized what he had done. Virgil hadn’t been the one to tell him Roman’s name. That had been  _Logan_. Oh no, oh no, if Patton didn’t do something, this was going to turn out like his nightmare. (Not the killing part, Patton would never, but definitely the part where Virgil lost all trust in him). But the lie left his lips before he could stop himself.

 “Y-You told me, remember?” Patton tried, but his heart wasn’t in it. It was very clear he was lying.

 “You’re lying!” Virgil pointed an accusing finger at Patton, backing up quickly to put more space between them. His heart began to race. Had all of this been an act? Where did the lies end and Patton begin? Was anything real?

 “No, wait! I can explain! Please…please don’t be scared of me. I wasn’t lying when I said I only wanted to help you!” Tears were falling down Patton’s face. He knew this was a bad idea, he should have tried to convince Logan  _more_.

 There were those tears again, but at this point Virgil didn’t know if Patton deserved his sympathy. He kept backing up until suddenly he felt the wall behind him. Virgil pressed up against it, suddenly realizing how stupid he had been. What had he been thinking, trusting a human? He had even slept in the same bed! What kind of stupid borrower would do that?  _You, apparently_. And now he had managed to trap himself on a kitchen counter with nowhere to go and a human bean right in front of him.

 Patton’s heart broke as Virgil continued to back away, fear evident in his eyes. More tears started to fall. “I’m sorry, I’m  _so sorry_  Virgil.” He took a deep breath, he still had to explain after all, he owed Virgil that.

 “Logan…Logan ended up having Roman. Just like you thought.” Patton said softly, wiping away his tears.

 “Why didn’t you tell me?” Virgil felt some tears of frustration forming in his own eyes.  _Of course he wouldn’t tell you. You were dumb to trust a human._

 “I wanted to! I really did, but Logan convinced me not to. I regret that so much now, but Logan told me that he wanted a few more days to, um, make things right with Roman.” Patton said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I-I agreed to give him the few extra days and I stupidly convinced myself that my lying to you wouldn’t matter, since either way you would be reunited with Roman.”

 “You knew this whole time.” Virgil began running his hands through his hair, processing the last 24 hours. “You knew how worried I was about him, and this whole time you knew exactly where he was.”  _With a human._  “And ‘make things right’? What does that even mean?!”

 Virgil’s mind raced to understand as all his fears were coming true. He told himself not to worry, to trust Patton. But he had been right! Patton did trust a human bean more than Virgil ( _Of course he does you’re just an insignificant, pathetic borrower-_ ) and Roman was still in grave danger. Heck, Virgil was still in grave danger. A human would never be able to understand how much of a threat humans were to borrowers. Virgil was naive to think otherwise.

 “I-I’m sorry.” Patton muttered. “If-If it helps any, Logan said Roman was perfectly fine and he seemed guilty that he was keeping him. He just wanted a few more days to make sure they didn’t leave on a bad note.” That was what Logan had told him anyway. And Patton believed him, even if he also believed he was doing it for another purpose as well. He didn’t tell this to Virgil though.

 None of that sounded good. A human wouldn’t just let a borrower go. This ‘Logan’ was probably just stalling, probably planning on keeping Roman forever. Virgil shuddered at the thought. He hugged his arms to his chest, feeling more tears accumulate. Why would Patton agree to something like that? Virgil had thought that Patton was better than that, but he must have been wrong. Now he didn’t know what to do. He had just ensured that Roman and himself remained captured by human beans. Virgil felt his legs give out, dropping to his knees as more tears began to fall.

 “V-Virgil?” Patton choked out, still overcome with tears himself. He wasn’t thinking when he slowly reached out a hand towards the borrower. Intent on trying to comfort him.

 “N-no!” Virgil let out a choked sob, pulling himself further into a ball at the sight of the oncoming hand.

 Patton snatched his hand away at Virgil’s cry and held it close to his chest, as if it were burned. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Patton apologized over and over. “I’m sorry for lying, I’m sorry for betraying your trust. I never wanted this. If I could go back and do it over you and Roman would be together and long gone right now. I just-I’m…” Patton finally broke down completely, placing his hands over his face he sobbed.

 In the back of his mind, he knew he didn’t deserve to be the one this upset over this. Virgil had a right to cry and break down, not Patton. But Patton just couldn’t help it.

 Virgil glanced up at Patton, seeing him crying as well. Despite the fact that Patton lied, Roman was in danger, and Patton had listened to Logan- despite everything, Virgil found himself once again feeling sorry for Patton. Patton, who let him go and fixed his leg and baked cookies.

 “P-Patton?” Virgil managed to croak, desperately wiping his own tears on his poncho.

 Patton, at hearing Virgil’s voice, lowered his hands just a smidge. “Huh?” Was the only other noise he could get out along with his crying.

 “Please … don’t cry.” Virgil sniffled, wiping his nose. His eyes felt so puffy that it was almost hard to see. He rubbed his arm self-consciously. “We can fix this…right?” Would Patton be willing to help Virgil still, or was he loyal to his human friend? The thought made Virgil’s stomach hurt, but Patton was his only hope now.

 Patton’s eyes widened and he took a deep breath while wiping away his tears. His hands fell away completely, his glasses askew on his face. “R-Right. Yeah, yeah, we can fix this! We’ll march over to Logan and demand he let Roman go!” He met Virgil’s eyes, the simple action causing more tears to form.

 “I-I really am sorry kiddo. I…I don’t deserve your trust, I know, but please just trust me to do this last thing. To help you get Roman back.”

 Virgil nodded. He wasn’t sure if he could trust Patton, but he would have to, for Roman’s sake. Once Roman was safe, Virgil could escape with him. Run far away and never come back.

 “Okay, okay yeah.” Patton wiped his eyes, tears no longer falling. Now, he was determined. Determined to make things right with Virgil and help him get his friend back. Patton bit his lip, hesitating before placing his hand down a few inches away from Virgil. He wondered if Virgil would get on or if he would have to figure out a different way to get Virgil to Logan’s place.

 Virgil hesitated, flinching as Patton’s palm came closer and stopped on the counter a few inches away. He didn’t think he could climb on again. What would Roman do? Virgil thought for a moment, a small smile forming.  _He’d do whatever it took to help save me. Even if it meant doing something as terrifyingly dumb as this._

 So, Virgil took a shaky breath and practically threw himself up onto Patton’s hand, trying to get it over with as quickly as possible. Virgil scooted to the center, hugging his knees to his chest and closing his eyes.

 Patton hated seeing the fear Virgil was showing, but knew that he deserved it. He sighed, but lifted his hand so it was at chest level. He made it to his front door, before realizing he couldn’t leave the apartment with Virgil out in the open like this.

 “Um…” His mind raced with ideas before he looked down at himself. He had a chest pocket on his right side, it would be perfect to hide Virgil in.

 “Kiddo, I’m, um, I’m gonna have to put you in my pocket. Is that okay?”

 “What?!” Virgil’s eyes flung open in panic. The idea of being trapped ON a human bean sounded terrifying and made Virgil feel claustrophobic in mere anticipation.  _No no no-_

 “I’m sorry!” Patton said quickly after Virgil’s reaction. “But, I can’t just carry you out in my hand. There might be people walking around.”

 Virgil groaned, knowing he was right. The idea of even more human beans knowing about his existence made him shudder.

 “…Alright.” Virgil agreed with hesitation, trying not to think about what he was agreeing to; his eyes were locked firmly on his own feet, careful not to stare at Patton’s pocket.

 Patton was careful as he held his pocket open and placed Virgil inside. He felt the borrower’s weight as he dropped into the pocket. But when he looked down, he could barely see a small bump through the cloth.

 “Are you okay? How is it?”

 _Trapped no get out this is bad AAH-_  Virgil took a deep breath, trying to avoid hyperventilating as his mind began to freak out. He pushed against the walls, trying to make more space for himself. Virgil was relieved when the fabric wall was a bit lenient, allowing for Virgil to move slightly and get into a comfortable position.

 It actually didn’t  _feel_  bad. No, Virgil was quite comfortable when he wasn’t thinking about the fact that the wall to his right was actually a human chest  _is that his HEARTBEAT I feel?! Oh geez._  Virgil closed his eyes, trying to imagine he was anywhere else. This was fine. He could trust Patton. Maybe.

 “F-fine!” Virgil called out loudly, answering Patton’s question.

 Patton gave a small smile before his face went back to one of determination. He opened the door, locking it behind him.

 It was time for him and Logan to have a talk.


	25. The Gang's All Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton and Virgil have come to rescue Roman!

 Roman opened his eyes as soon as the light coming through the blinds hit his eyes. After going back to sleep that night, he had no other dreams. Which was good, Roman didn’t think he could handle one right after the other. He sat up, stretching his hands up in the air. He stood and turned to face Logan. He was lying on his back, eyes still closed, completely out. Roman hummed and was about to call out to Logan, before shutting his mouth.

 He  _could_  wake Logan up the normal way.  _Or_ …

 With a mischievous smirk, Roman hopped onto the bed, wobbling slightly before catching his balance and moving towards the sleeping human. He gripped Logan’s shirt and climbed up onto his chest. Roman started to walk, before freezing in his tracks. The ground below him lifted before going back down again. Roman’s still tired mind registered this as Logan breathing.

 It was very weird, being on a human like this. Unaware Roman was even there. It was dangerous, but surprisingly, Roman didn’t feel like he was in any danger. The borrower continued to walk towards Logan’s head, stopping just short of it. He took a deep breath and cupped his hands around his mouth.

 “Logan! Wake up!” He yelled.

 “Aaah!” Logan gave a yelp, sitting up suddenly and looking to the nightstand with a panicked expression.

 “Whoa!” Roman rolled down Logan’s chest as he sat up, landing on his thigh with a grunt. For some reason, he hadn’t been expecting that.

 At the feeling of something hitting his leg, Logan looked down. Without his glasses it was hard to make out the small blur, but by the blur’s voice Logan had a pretty good guess.

 “Roman?” Logan asked, squinting his eyes as he slightly blindly made a grab at the borrower. It took a moment for his fingers to feel along Roman’s body, securing around his middle as Logan raised him into the air.

 Roman had since lost his mischievous smile, now facing Logan with a sheepish one. “Heh, good morning.”

 Logan reached over to the nightstand, feeling for his glasses. He slipped them onto his face, blinking and watching the borrower come into focus.

 “G’morning.” Logan’s sleepy mind said automatically, trying to piece together what happened. Logan glanced over to the nightstand again, noting the piled up blanket. He had put Roman back there last night…right? “What were you doing in my bed?”

 “Uh…climbing?” Roman answered with a shrug, sheepish grin still on his face.

 Logan tried not to shudder at the idea of Roman climbed all over him while he slept. The idea made Logan feel a bit violated. “Roman, do you have any idea how dangerous that was? I had no idea you were even here. You could have gotten seriously hurt.”

 “But I’m not.” Roman said with a grin.

 Logan opened his mouth to say more, but frowned as he remembered his promise to treat Roman as less of a child.

 “Just…” Logan pinched the bridge of his nose irritably. “Don’t do that again.”

 “No promises.” Roman said before changing the subject. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

 “Seriously, don’t.” Logan sent him a glare before getting up and making his way to the kitchen. He definitely needed coffee if he was going to be with this impulsive version of Roman all day. “As for the agenda, I have no classes today. Instead I’ll be spending my free time working on homework. Usually I spend at least part of the day with Patton, but I’ll probably just tell him I’m busy.”

 At the memory of Patton, Logan internally grimaced as he remembered what he was currently putting him through. Logan set Roman down on the counter and prepped the coffee machine, lost in thought for a moment.

 Roman groaned. “That sounds so  _boring_.” Roman took a quick look around the kitchen, stomach grumbling at the thought of food. “Er, can I have something to eat? Please?” Roman asked, only a little hesitant this time around.

 “Oh yes, sorry.” Logan snapped himself out of his thoughts, remembering that they both needed breakfast as well. In fact, it was probable Roman woke him due to the prospect of food, just like a pet cat. The idea made Logan chuckle as he dug around in the fridge.

 Roman nodded before walking around the counter. His eyes landed on the toaster, still blocking his exit. Even knowing it was useless, Roman walked over to his anyway, inspecting it. There was a very thin passageway, as the toaster couldn’t be all the way up against the wall due to how it was designed. But there was still no way for Roman to get through. He may be skinny, but he had some broad shoulders. He’d get stuck, if he could even get in at all.

 Logan got out some fruit cut up from before, laying it on a plate for Roman before grabbing some for himself as well. He looked at Roman, only to see the borrower had moved to inspect the toaster hiding his exit. Logan’s heart felt heavy at the thought. Did Roman still just want to get away? Logan couldn’t fault him for that, but it did make Logan a bit sad.

 “Here.” Logan said more gruffly than usual, pushing the plate towards the borrower and not meeting his eye. The coffee machine beeped, and Logan was quick to divert his attention to getting himself some coffee.

 Roman turned, his eyebrows furrowing at Logan’s sudden strange behavior. He walked over to the food, grabbing a piece and wondering what was up with the human. Was it because he was near his exit?

 “You know there’s no way for me to get past the toaster right? You don’t have to worry.” Roman said matter of factly. At this point, Roman felt numb towards that fact.

 Logan cringed, briefly pausing to tense up before continuing to fill his mug. “I…I know.” Logan said softly, the words paining him. He took a few sips, feeling as though he deserved it when the hot liquid burned his tongue.

 Roman hummed before shrugging and focusing on eating. The fresh fruit was amazing.

 Logan looked at Roman, then looked at the toaster. Suddenly he found himself feeling indecisive again. It was too early for this kind of a decision. In fact… how early was it? Logan patted his pockets before remembering he had left his phone in his bedroom.

 “I’ll be right back.” Logan explained, walking back to retrieve his device. Turning it on, Logan realized it was actually a bit later in the morning than he had guessed. Roman had let him sleep in. Logan also realized he had two missing texts from Patton, which he clicked open:

_I can’t do it anymore. We need to tell Virgil and Roman._

_Logan, please, I can’t keep this up._

 Logan winced. How could he have done this to Patton? And Roman? And apparently Virgil? Logan realized he couldn’t keep this up either. It was wrong, all of this was a stupid idea. If he wanted Roman’s trust and respect, he couldn’t go behind his back. Logan would have to come clean.

 Taking a deep breath, Logan steeled himself and began walking back to the kitchen, feeling a bit nervous.

 Patton was careful yet quick as he made his way up to the fifth floor. Being wary of the borrower he had in his pocket. He came up to Logan’s door before knocking on it rather hard.

 Logan paused in the kitchen doorway, eyes widening as he heard a loud knock on the front door. He looked back at the front door, then back at Roman. He should hide the borrower, but where? His pajama shirt didn’t have pockets, and his computer bag was still in the other room.

 Roman’s eyes widened as the banging on the door increased. He looked at Logan and then around the counter, looking for somewhere to go. Roman glanced at Logan’s mug, before running behind it. He gave Logan a signal, letting him know it was okay.

 “Logan! Open the door!” Patton yelled, continually knocking on the door.

 Virgil flinched, not only hearing but  _feeling_  Patton shout angrily. Virgil couldn’t help but shiver, intimidated despite the fact that the anger was not directed at him.

 Logan winced, making his way over to the front door at Patton’s yelling once Roman was (albeit badly) hidden. Logan unlocked the door, opening it only slightly just as he had before.

 “Good morning, Patton.” Logan had the decency to look sheepish.

 “Sorry about this.” Patton apologized before slamming his body into the door, knocking Logan away and moving into the apartment.

 Virgil tried not to let his fears consume him, the feeling of sudden movement becoming almost overwhelming. He closed his eyes briefly before realizing that made it worse.

 “Roman!” Patton called out, looking around the apartment. Roman, for his part, tensed when he heard Patton yelling  _his_  name. How did he even know it? How did he even know he  _existed_. Did Logan tell him? Had Logan lied to him after all?

 Roman stayed where he was, back against the warm mug, shaking with fear.

 The other borrower was currently face-palming.  _This_  was Patton’s plan? Just call out Roman’s name as if he’d just come running out? Roman didn’t even know Patton, he had no reason to trust him!  _You don’t even have a reason to trust him._

 “Patton!” Logan was flabbergasted by Patton’s behavior. He gripped Patton’s shoulders, not wanting Patton to get any farther and scare Roman. Lord knows Roman was probably already intimidated. Logan attempted to pull Patton back towards the door.

 “What on earth are you thinking?” Logan spoke quietly, irritably.

 At the sound of Logan’s voice, Virgil cowered further into a ball, willing himself not to be seen.  _This was a mistake I shouldn’t be here now there’s two angry humans oh no what have I done-_

 Patton pulled away from Logan, turning to face him. “We can’t keep this up anymore Logan. We can’t just  _keep_  them here against their will and lie to them. Now, where is Roman.” Patton demanded.

 Roman’s eyes widened at Patton’s words. Suddenly even more confused. Roman still stayed where he stood though.

 “Patton, stop it.” Logan glared at his best friend. He shut the front door to help keep anyone else from learning about the borrowers. Logan let his voice drop to nearly a whisper, not wanting Roman to overhear and get embarrassed. “You’re going to scare him, if you haven’t done so already.”

 Virgil’s eyes widened. Roman was here. He was  _here_. If it weren’t such a terrifying place, Virgil would be ecstatic. Instead, Virgil began to wonder what would happen to them both. He suddenly wished he could see Roman’s face to be sure he was at least alive.

 Patton’s face turned to one of guilt. “S-Sorry.” He hadn’t thought of that. He hadn’t really thought this whole thing through at all. He had just been focused on getting Roman.

 “B-But I’m still right! You have to let him go Logan. We…” He placed a hand over his chest pocket, over Virgil. “We both do.”

 Roman frowned when the conversation turned quiet, even Patton’s booming voice was now too soft to hear well. He thought about moving away from his hiding place, but decided against it. Even if Patton knew about him, didn’t mean he was alright to reveal himself.

 Logan’s eyes widened at Patton’s actions. He looked at Patton’s pocket, unable to help being immensely curious. Sure, he knew about borrowers, but he had only met Roman. If the situation had been slightly different, Logan would be excited to see another borrower.

 As it stood, however, Logan found himself to be a bit nervous. “You brought him here?”

 Virgil froze, both at the feeling of pressure on his side and at Logan’s words. Though he was hidden behind a wall of fabric, Virgil was acutely aware that all focus was on him. He gulped, finding it hard to breathe. Would Patton take him out? Nobody said Virgil was going to have to  _meet_  Logan, and considering Logan had kidnapped his best friend Virgil would really prefer staying as far away as possible from that particular bean.

 Patton hesitated before nodding. “Yeah, he-he found out. I explained everything to him. He-He just wants to see his friend again and leave. I promised I would help him and I’m keeping that promise.”

 Logan couldn’t believe all this was happening. The idea of Roman leaving forever filled him with dread, but Logan knew he couldn’t delay it any longer.

 …well, maybe he could delay it a little longer. “Can I meet him?” Logan asked hesitantly, knowing he had no right but also knowing he was likely to never get the chance again.

 Virgil felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the thought.

 Patton bit his lip and looked down at his pocket. “That’s…That’s not really up to me.” He said, before turning around for a moment.

 “Virgil, is it okay if Logan meets you? He won’t hurt you, I won’t even let him touch you. I promise.” He whispered to Virgil.

 Logan fought the urge to peer over Patton’s shoulder, knowing it would only do more harm.

 Virgil looked up at Patton, thankful he was getting a choice but frightened of what would happen if he chose wrong. Patton’s angry yelling still rang in his ears.

 “I-I…” Virgil hated how his voice shook, feeling weak.  _You_ are _weak. You can’t even answer a simple question and stand up for yourself._

 “Virgil? It’s okay if you don’t, I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do.” Patton reassured the borrower. He glanced back at Logan for a moment before turning his attention back at his pocket.

 “Thanks.” Virgil breathed a sigh of relief, allowing himself to sink back into the pocket. He pulled his poncho around himself as a kind of security blanket. “I don’t.”

 “Alright.” Patton turned back around, facing Logan. “I’m sorry Logan, but he doesn’t want to meet you.”

 “I understand.” Logan was disappointed but not surprised. Virgil heard the disappointment in his voice and couldn’t help but smirk.  _Serves you right you stupid human._

 Logan glanced back at the kitchen, knowing it was time.

 “Stay here.” Logan instructed, going alone.


	26. Goodbyes are the Hardest Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The borrowers have been reunited, and now the humans must say goodbye to their tiny friends.

 Roman tensed and froze when he heard footsteps come into the kitchen. He only heard one pair, but he couldn’t tell if it was Logan or Patton and he didn’t move for fear of being wrong.

 “Roman?” Logan called out softly, stopping a few feet away from his coffee mug.

 Roman sighed in relief when he heard Logan’s voice and stepped away from the mug, looking up at Logan. “Is he gone?” He asked quietly.

 “Well, no.” Logan explained, rubbing the back of his neck. “He’s actually just in the other room. There’s kind of…” He sighed. “…I need to tell you something, and I can only hope you’ll forgive me.”

 Roman figured it had something to do with the fact that Patton knew about him. But still, Roman didn’t have a great feeling about what Logan was going to say next. “…Okay…”

 “First of all, it’s not my fault.” Logan started off. “I promise you that I told Patton nothing. However, Patton, coincidentally, found Virgil in his own apartment.”

 Roman’s eyes went wide. “What!?” Virgil? With a human? And with Patton out of all of them? Oh, this was exactly what Roman was trying to avoid.

 “Don’t panic.” Logan advised. “Virgil’s fine. Patton’s nicer than me.”

 Roman hummed nervously at that before looking Logan in the eye. “So…you…knew about Virgil this whole time.” Roman said, piecing some things together. “So last night, when I woke up and yelled about Virgil, you already knew about him.” Roman didn’t know how to feel about that.

 “I didn’t know about Virgil the whole time.” Logan corrected. “But, yes, I’ve known since Patton came knocking on my door yesterday. He…” Logan rubbed his arm awkwardly, ashamed of the truth but knowing Roman had the right to know. “Well, Patton had actually let Virgil go, but Virgil realized you were missing and came back to ask for Patton’s help. So Patton came over here to try and get me to let you go.”

 Roman’s eyes widened at the fact that  _Virgil_  went  _back to the human_. All to help him. Not to mention, Roman was surprised Patton even let him  _go_. If he did that then…then Patton couldn’t be  _too_  bad. But…

 “But you…didn’t let me go. So what happened?” Roman asked. He tired staying calm on the outside, but on the inside a whole storm of emotions were happening.

 “Well, before that point I had realized that I had made a critical error.” Logan responded. “I didn’t want to keep you here against your will, but I still didn’t want you to leave. So I convinced Patton to wait a couple days so that I could at least leave things on a better note between us.” Logan looked back towards the living room and sighed. “Unfortunately, Patton failed at keeping that a secret, so now they’re both here trying to help you.”

 “Oh…” Was all Roman could say as he took in everything Logan had just said. So, Logan had realized his mistake. He…wanted to let him go. Roman should be ecstatic about that and a part of him was. But the other part couldn’t help but bring up last night and other various moments throughout his time with Logan. Roman was…confused. He decided to focus on the most pressing issue.

 “Wait, Virgil’s here? With Patton?” Roman took a step closer to Logan. “Can-Can I see him?” All Roman wanted to do was see Virgil and make sure he was okay.

 “Yes, but Virgil doesn’t want to see me.” Logan frowned at the memory. “So you would have to be with Patton. Are you alright with that?”

 Roman tensed, before chuckling nervously. “Surprisingly, I’d rather you be here as well.”

 Logan couldn’t help but smile. “Excellent, then may I pick you up?”

 Roman returned the smile. “Sure, nerd.”

 Logan picked up Roman, bringing his other hand up to provide extra support. For a moment Logan wondered if Patton and Virgil used the same hand holding techniques, or if he was about to be judged by his best friend for ‘doing it wrong’.

 Logan made his way back into the living room, holding Roman at chest level.

 “Patton,” Logan said softly, wanting to help keep Roman calm and diffuse the tension, “this is Roman.”

 Patton’s eyes widened with awe at the sight of another borrower. He thought he had gotten used to tiny people after being with Virgil most of the day yesterday and last night, but apparently not. “Hi.” Patton greeted, matching Logan’s tone.

 Roman took a deep breath, before meeting Patton’s eyes. This was weird, but he felt safe knowing Logan was right there with him. “Hey.” Roman greeted back. He looked Patton over, noticing how his hands were free. Where was Virgil?

 Virgil’s eyes widened, first at the mention of Roman’s name and then and the sound of his best friend’s voice. Virgil tried to struggle up to the top of the pocket to see, but had no success. Realizing he’d need help, Virgil hit Patton’s chest.

 “Huh? Oh! Right!” Patton broke his gaze away from Roman and carefully reached into his pocket, fingers curling around Virgil’s body and lifting him up. He opened his palm, allowing Virgil to sit in the center.

 “Virgil!” Roman exclaimed as soon as Patton opened his hand, revealing the other borrower. He squirmed in Logan’s hand, wanting nothing more than to hug his best friend, who he thought he might never see again. “Logan, put me down!”

 Virgil couldn’t believe his eyes. “Roman!” He called out with similar excitement, overjoyed to see his friend alive and well. He kept his sights solely on his borrower friend, trying not to acknowledge Logan’s eyes staring intensely at him.

 Logan tore his eyes away from the new borrower to listen to Roman, kneeling on the living room floor and setting Roman down on the coffee table.

 Patton mimicked Logan’s movements, kneeling down and setting Virgil on the coffee table not to far from Roman.

 Roman wasted no time in running and tackling Virgil into a bear hug. “Oh, Virgil you have no idea how much I missed you.” Roman admitted.

 Virgil hugged him back, gripping his friend tightly. “I missed you too, princey.” Virgil felt a few tears collect in his eyes out of relief.  _It’s okay. Roman’s okay_.

 Logan watched the exchange, feeling guilty. After all, it was his fault the two were apart in the first place.

 Patton watched the exchange with happiness. The two were finally reunited and the two of them were just being so cute. But he didn’t say anything, he didn’t want to ruin their moment after all.

 Roman hugged Virgil for a few seconds longer before pulling away and smiling at Virgil, though there was an underline of concern. “Are you okay?”

 Virgil gave him a tense smile. “As okay as I can be, given the circumstances.” He gave a nervous glance at the two humans, careful not to look them in the eye. “What about you?”

 Patton frowned a little at Virgil’s answer, but of course he couldn’t blame him. Not after how he had messed up.

 Roman chuckled. “Trust me, I know how you feel.” Roman shrugged, smiling. “I’m…good, I think. Better now that I know you’re okay though.” Roman admitted. His eyes glanced towards the two humans watching them for a moment.

 “Oh yeah!” Roman grabbed Virgil’s arm and started pulling him closer to Logan. It was strange, yesterday Roman would have wanted Virgil as far away from Logan as possible, but now? He found himself almost eager for his best friend to meet the human. Roman had to admit to himself that that was strange.

 “This is Logan.” Roman introduced.

 Virgil stumbled on his feet, wincing as he dragged his injured leg along. He finally looked up at Logan, trying not to cower away. Why was Roman introducing him to Logan? Wasn’t Logan the stereotypical evil human? He was the reason Roman was gone. In fact, he was the reason all of this happened. Virgil wouldn’t have been in Patton’s apartment if Roman hadn’t been missing.

 “Uh, h-hi.” Virgil tried to not stutter too much.

 Logan gave a slight frown, understanding Virgil’s fear but instead picking up on his stumbling walking pattern. Logan leaned slightly closer, examining him. “What happened to your leg?” Logan asked.

 Virgil was surprised by Logan’s blunt question, quickly trying to hide his leg from the human. He looked sheepishly at Roman, before glancing back at Patton. “Uh…”

 “Wait, what?” Roman looked down, only now noticing Virgil’s leg was wrapped up. He looked up in time to see Virgil glance in Patton’s direction. Roman turned towards the human, eyes hard. And just when he thought Patton might not have been that bad.

 Knowing he was safe with Logan there, Roman felt brave enough to march up to Patton. “Did you do that? How could you!” Roman yelled.

 Patton stuttered, not knowing what to say. “I-I didn’t-I mean-” Patton swallowed the lump in his throat. “It-it was an accident…”

 Logan looked at Patton, surprised and concerned. “Patton, what happened?”

 “Roman, chill.” Virgil began to limp over to join his friend.

 “I will  _not_  chill, he hurt you!” He turned back to Patton, glaring hard.

 Patton himself felt small under his gaze. “I-When I found him I accidentally grabbed him the wrong way…I ended up spraining Virgil’s ankle. I didn’t mean to! I just…didn’t know how to react.” Patton explained.

 Roman scoffed. “Likely story.”

 “Princey, lay off.” Virgil insisted. “He’s telling the truth, it was an accident. Patton felt terrible about it and has done everything he could to help me, including helping me find you and letting me go.” If he was feeling braver, Virgil would have sent a pointed glare towards Logan.

 Patton smiled at Virgil as Roman relaxed a bit. “Oh, well…at least he made up for it.” Roman turned to face Patton. “Sorry for…accusing you of that.”

 Patton smiled down at Roman. “It’s okay, I kind of deserved it.”

 “Patton’s chill.” Virgil smiled back, glad the two people he liked were getting along. “He said he’d help us leave.”

 “Well if you think so than he  _must_  be.” Roman knew Virgil was very slow to trust even another borrower. If he said Patton, a  _human_  was cool, than he was cool. “Logan’s…actually not  _so_  bad, once you get to know him.” Roman admitted, sending his human a smile.

 Logan raised an eyebrow, surprised at Roman’s response. Virgil was equally surprised.

 “But he took you, didn’t he?” Virgil reminded him, shuddering at the thought. “And kept you kidnapped?” Logan’s eyes tactfully stared at the wall with these statements, knowing they were true.

 “Well…yes, but I never said he was perfect.” Roman said as an answer, shrugging. Patton couldn’t help but smile at Logan. Even though he still didn’t like the fact that Logan had kept him all this time, it was nice to see that the two of them seemed to have become friends. Or at the very least, something close to it.

 “I do apologize for all that.” Logan spoke up, causing Virgil to jump. “And I must extend an apology to you as well, Virgil. At the very least I know I must have caused you a large amount of worry.”

 “Well, yeah.” Virgil muttered, thinking that was an understatement. This was all turning out strangely. When he barged in here with Patton, he didn’t expect Roman to  _like_  the human he was with; after all, wasn’t Roman with the mean one?

 “An apology? Wow, never thought I’d hear that.” Roman teased, even if it was somewhat true. A couple of days ago he would have never expected Logan to apologize for keeping him, since he always thought that was for the best. Yes, he had apologized for other things, but never the right ones.

 Patton smiled as everyone seemed to be getting alone. Logan even apologized! But…

 “I hate to cut this short guys, but…I think it might be time for these two to get home.” Patton hated the thought of never seeing them again, but he knew this was for the best.

 Virgil nodded, agreeing. “Sounds good.” He made his way over towards Patton’s end of the table, motioning for Roman to follow.

 Roman blinked, not moving towards Patton like Virgil wanted. “Er, no offense Virgil, Patton. But I think I’ll stick with my normal ride.” Roman said as he turned and walked towards Logan instead.

 Patton didn’t mind, holding a hand out for Virgil to climb onto.

 Virgil was a bit anxious at leaving Roman’s side so soon, but he understood. He wouldn’t want to be in Logan’s hands. So, he climbed onto Patton’s hand alone.

 Logan chuckled at Roman’s comment, watching the borrower approach. He looked over at Patton’s system, realizing that it might be a good idea. So, he copied Patton and laid his own hand down next to Roman.

 Roman blinked in confusion as Logan simply laid his hand down in front of him. “What? No grabbing?” Roman teased, but was also asking as a genuine question.

 Logan felt his cheeks turn a slight shade of pink in embarrassment. “I figured we could try their system.” Logan explained. “It seems like a good way to give warning, which you are so keen on.”

 “Cool.” It was weird, but not unwelcome. Just because Roman had gotten used to being grabbed didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate being able to get on on his own. Which he did, settling down in the center of Logan’s palm.

 Patton stood up, holding his free hand under Virgil for extra safety. “So, which way to an exit?” Patton asked.

 “This way.” Logan said, standing up and making his way to the kitchen. His other hand formed a sort of barrier to keep Roman safe, but ultimately Logan decided this method was much less practical. Polite, yes. Efficient? Smart? Safe? No.

 …although soon Logan wouldn’t have to worry about that. In fact, this might be the last time he ever picked up Roman. The thought made him feel a bit empty inside.

 Patton followed Logan into the kitchen, looking around. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t see anything he would deem a door. “Where…?”

 “Behind the toaster,” Roman answered, pointing. It was strange, being moved while also being unconfined.

 With great hesitation, Logan set Roman down on the counter. He used his free hands to move the toaster out of the way.

 Patton placed Virgil onto the counter as well, tears stinging his eyes at the thought that this would probably be the last time he saw Virgil.

 “I-I guess this is goodbye.” Patton spoke softly.

 “Yeah.” Virgil scuffed the ground with his good foot, surprised that the prospect of never seeing Patton again made him upset. Logan? Sure. But Patton had been unconditionally kind. Virgil would miss that. “Thank you, Patton, for everything.” He looked down at his leg, then gave Patton a smirk. “Well, almost everything.”

 Patton couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “You’re welcome. And-I’m sorry, again. For lying.” Patton looked away, but he would understand if Virgil didn’t forgive him.

 “It’s okay.” Virgil shrugged, finding himself to be less upset now that everything had worked out okay. “I forgive you.”

 Patton gave him a watery smile. “Thank you.” He hesitated for a moment, before asking. “Can I…give you a hug?”

 “How would that work?” Logan muttered, before realizing he spoke aloud. He coughed awkwardly, turning away.

 “Um…” Virgil was nervous about the idea, but he didn’t want to upset Patton right before leaving. Besides, he could survive one hug.  _Unless he breaks another bone_. “Sure, Patton.”

 Patton smiled, before carefully scooping Virgil into his cupped hands. He was very gentle as he brought Virgil to his chest, creating a sort of makeshift hug. “I would never stop you from going home, but I’m gonna miss you.” Patton admitted softly.

 Virgil felt his heart ache, for once not finding the touch of human hands so suffocating. He pressed his hands against Patton, doing his best to hug back.

 Roman turned away from the heartfelt scene, focusing his gaze back on Logan. “You’re not gonna want a hug, right?” Roman teased.

 “No, I’m good.” Logan assured him. He found Patton and Virgil’s exchange touching, but Logan was never really the touchy-feely type.

 Roman chuckled. “Yeah, I figured.” Roman stood in silence for a moment, smile slowly shrinking. “I guess this is it, huh?”

 “Yes, I suppose.” Logan nodded. “You can leave and never come back, just like you said you wanted. Several times, in fact.”

 “Yep.” Roman said, a bit awkward. “Ya know, for a while there I was thinking I was never gonna be able to leave.” Roman admitted, even though Logan probably already knew that.

 Logan winced. “I really did want you to be able to leave and come back. That’s why I suggested those options, although your devotion to the safety of others was a factor that I hadn’t considered to be so strong.” He paused. “I never intended on sending those photos at all.”

 Roman blinked, before laughing out loud. “Of course not.” Roman shook his head. Honestly, Roman didn’t have it in him to be mad. And after getting to know Logan more, it really had made no sense that Logan would expose him.  _Now_  it made sense. “You really do suck, you know that?” Roman said, but he was smirking and his tone was teasing.

 Logan shrugged. “Yes, I think I’ve been made aware of that.” He said with a smirk of his own. “At least you won’t have to deal with my behaviors any longer.”

 Roman immediately sobered up at that. “Yeah…” Roman sighed. “I…well,  _some_ part of me is going to miss you, you know.”

 Logan’s eyes widened. “I did not know that.” He was actually quite surprised to hear that. It made him wonder why Roman had to leave at all, but Logan reminded himself that Roman had to be free to do as he pleased. Even if that meant leaving to be with Virgil again.

 “I will miss you too.” Logan said with a nod.

 Patton smiled at Roman and Logan’s exchange as he set Virgil back down on the counter. Roman noticed this and started over towards the exit. He stopped just short of it, waiting for Virgil.

 Virgil limped over to join Roman, giving one last wave goodbye. “Goodbye, Patton.” He paused. “And you too, I guess.”

 “Goodbye.” Logan gave a small wave, glad to be acknowledged by the borrower.

 “Bye you two! Be careful and stay safe out there!” Patton exclaimed, waving.

 Roman chuckled. “Goodbye Patton.” He turned, looking Logan in the eye. “Bye Logan.” And with that, Roman and Virgil went into the walls.

 It was a few moments of silence later, that Patton spoke. A few tears escaping his eyes. “I miss them already.”

 “Oh, Patton.” Logan rolled his eyes, but pulled his friend in for a hug.


	27. ...what happens now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman makes a last borrowing trip to Logan's apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Life went on without you. Of course, it did. Of course, it does. It was just an ending, not the end.” - Lang Leav

Roman sat in his home, hand on his cheek as he thought over everything that had happened the last few days. He glanced over at Virgil, who was stitching a few threads in his poncho. His friend had decided on staying with Roman for a few days, the younger borrower not wanting Roman to leave his sight. Roman sighed, and sat up straight.

 “Hey Virgil? Would you have gone back to Patton if I hadn’t been caught?” Roman asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

 Virgil looked up, surprised by the question. “No, ‘course not. I mean Patton was great, but he’s still human.”

 Roman had expected that answer. “So, you wouldn’t go back to him now?”

 “Well…” Virgil tugged at his Poncho again. “I mean, we can’t, can we? It’s against the rules and all that.” Virgil was never very fond of rules in general, but he appreciated that they kept him safe.

 “Right, the rules.” The borrower rules. But Roman couldn’t help but think the rules didn’t apply in this situation. Roman blinked.

 “Is it weird…that I sort of miss Logan?” Roman asked. He had a lot of mixed feelings over the last few days, and even more after they both had left.

 “…Yeah.” Virgil raised an eyebrow. “He kept you captive for a few days, dude. What happened between you two?”

 “A lot of things.” Roman said vaguely, before recounting what had happened. He hesitated over some parts, such as the options Logan had given him, his panic attack, and his nightmare, but he powered through the story. “After the talk we had late at night, I…I don’t know. I guess I started seeing Logan in a new light. Besides, he  _did_ apologize for keeping me. I don’t know, I just have a lot of mixed feelings about it.”

 “I mean, I get it.” Virgil shrugged. “Patton turned out alright, and I feel bad leaving, but we don’t have a choice. We’ve only known them a couple of  _days_ , there’s no way to tell if they’ll end up being as bad as other humans.” Virgil shuddered at the thought out of fear.

 “Right…” Roman sighed before standing up. “I think I’m going to go out borrowing. Do you need anything?”

 “Some new bandages, if you can.” Virgil said, looking down at his leg. It was healing fast, now that he actually had time to rest it.

 “Got it.” Roman grabbed his spare hook and left his home, walking through the walls until he found himself at a exit. He went through it and found himself under Logan’s bed, the underside of it clear. Logan must have moved the boxes. Roman walked towards the far leg of the bed, looking around the room. He spotted Logan, sitting at his desk. Walking out into the open, Roman looked up to see that Logan was using his arms as a makeshift pillow and his eyes were closed. He must have fallen asleep.

 Roman really should have taken this opportunity to turn back and leave. To never come back, as was the borrower way, but Roman didn’t. He  _couldn’t_. He walked over to Logan’s sleeping form. He sized up the desk, but his eyes glanced towards Logan. Well…there was definitely more places to grab onto if he went up that way.

 Making up his mind, Roman gripped the cloth of Logan’s pants and started climbing up. He almost lost his balance a few times as Logan shifted, but he was a skilled enough climber to keep on moving. Eventually he made it up onto the desk. He looked Logan over, wondering if he should wake him up or not yet. His eyes glanced over towards the laptop that was still on, seeing that Logan had left off in the middle of a sentence.

 Logan let out a low groan, slowly rejoining the waking world as he shifted awake.

 Roman’s eyes widened and before he realized what he was doing he went to hide behind Logan’s laptop. He blinked, before realizing his instincts weren’t just going to go away because he wanted them to.

 Logan rubbed at his eyes, disoriented for a moment before realizing he had fallen asleep. He let out a sigh, shaking his head as he sent a glance to the nightstand. Even after Roman left, Logan was finding it hard to get much sleep at night.

 Roman still technically had a chance to back out of this. To stay hidden and leave at the first opportunity, but he didn’t. He did stay hidden for a bit longer though, just to see what Logan would do. He was curious to see what Logan did when he wasn’t around.

 Logan shook his head, snapping his mind out of his melancholy thoughts. He turned back to his laptop, rereading what he had written. Logan couldn’t let his grades suffer. After all, Roman wouldn’t come back. Roman had said so himself. And after everything Logan had learned, he understood that it would be for the best.

 Logan began typing, slowly losing himself once again in his work.

 Roman hid there behind the laptop for another hour and all Logan did was work on his homework. Roman was getting bored out of his mind. After another ten minutes passed, Roman had had enough. “Okay, seriously, do you do  _anything_  fun?!” Roman exclaimed, coming from behind the laptop and revealing himself.

 Logan jumped, his hands freezing as he glanced over at the borrower standing next to his laptop. He could scarcely believe what he was seeing, and the thought occurred to him that he was still asleep and this was all a dream.

 “Roman.” Logan said in surprise. “I…what are you doing here?”

 “I was wondering if you did anything fun when I wasn’t here, but apparently not.” Roman answered, even though it wasn’t the real reason he was here.  

 “Sorry to disappoint, then.” Logan smirked, slowly closing his laptop.

 Roman hummed and crossed his arms. “Ya know, if this keeps happening, I might have to keep coming back to show you how to have some  _real_  fun.”

 “…Oh?” Logan tried not to get his hopes up, though he could guess what Roman was implying. “And what exactly qualifies as  _real_  fun?”

 “Well, going out and  _adventuring_  of course.” Roman smirked. “There is a whole wide world out there filled with possibilities.” Possibilities that he could only take advantage of if he was with Logan.

 “Mhm.” Logan leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. The idea of him going adventuring like some Indiana Jones role-player was comical. “And when exactly am I supposed to go adventuring when I have classes to attend?”

 “Well, it’s not like you have classes everyday. And an adventure doesn’t have to be some big extravagant thing. Yes, shocking coming from me, I know, but it’s true. An adventure could simply be going to the park for an hour or even ordering food from a place you’ve never heard of before.” Roman explained, smiling. “An adventure is being…human.”

 “From my perspective it’s not much of an adventure.” Logan looked appraisingly at Roman. “However, I’m sure it would feel more adventurous if there was a certain over dramatic borrower who wanted to come with me?” This last bit had a more hopeful tone.

 “I’d…like that.” Roman answered. Roman chuckled and sat down on the edge of Logan’s closed laptop. “Honestly, I was not expecting things would turn out like this. It seemed like such a long time ago that I got stuck in that glue trap and you found me and yet it was only four days ago.”

 Logan suddenly remembered he had yet to throw out those excess glue traps. He made a mental note to do that later.

 “It is strange how fast it all occurred.” Logan agreed. “It seems as though a month has passed since I frantically had to look up a Wikipedia article to get you out of that, yet it’s been scarcely a school week.”

 “Heh, yeah.” Roman paused for a moment, before remembering he was supposed to be out borrowing and it had already been more than an hour. Virgil would start to get worried. “Er, by the way, do you happen to have some bandages. I promised Virgil I would borrow some.” Roman let out a sheepish chuckle.

 “He, uh, doesn’t exactly know that I came back here.”

 “Oh?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “Is Virgil going to be upset with you, then?”

 “Nah.” He paused. “Well, maybe, but I know deep down he misses Patton. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up going back to him once his leg was better.”

 “I’m sure Patton would be pleased.” Logan smiled. “He misses both of you greatly, it took a lot of convincing to get him to leave my kitchen after you left.”

 “He misses us, huh?” Roman smirked. “Is he the only one?”

 “It’s not exactly possible to miss you when you’re right here.” Logan retorted.

 “Ha ha.” Roman said sarcastically, but he had a smile on his face. He was going to take that as Logan had indeed missed them.

 “Anyway, I should really get back before Virgil gets worried. Bandages?”

 Logan rolled his eyes, standing up and going to the bathroom. He retrieved an open box of bandages from the medicine cabinet, coming back and placing it on the desk next to Roman.

 “You know, I thought the point of borrowing was to get these yourself.” Logan pointed out.

 “Why would I get it myself if I can just have you get it for me?” Roman smirked. “It is more efficient that way after all.” He shoved as many as he could into his bag, hoping it would be enough for Virgil. After he was done, he walked over to the edge of the desk. He took out his hook, something he hadn’t used in what seemed like forever, and hooked it onto the desk before using it to climb down to the floor.

 Logan took a few steps back to give him room, admiring Roman’s technique. Now the idea of a borrower having a hook made sense.

 Roman started walking towards the bed, before pausing at turning around to look up and face Logan. “I’ll be back tomorrow.” Roman said.

 Logan smiled, pleased to hear that but still thinking of logistics. “Do I get a time frame for that arrival or do I just have be on edge for the next 24 hours?”

 Roman chuckled. “Bye Logan.” He said, while waving. Disappearing from Logan’s sight and into the walls.

_Fin_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking with us as we finished our first story together! This was a lot of fun and we hope you enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it. <3


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